


Hachi's Practise

by HachiroKenichi, ladychance



Series: The Institute [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anthropomorphic, Anxiety, Atamori Institute, Backstory, Consensual, Consensual Sex, Death, Detox, Drug Addiction, Drugs, Explicit Sexual Content, Flustered, Furry, Gay, Immortals, Intimacy, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Hospital, Mental Institutions, Original Character(s), Original Species, Passion, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Recovery, Role Reversal, Roleplay, Roleplay Logs, Scars, Sexual Content, Shyness, Slow Burn, Smoking, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, Vampires, anatomically correct, anthro on humanoid, husky - Freeform, institute, kirinae, slow burn but not really, unexpected intimacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-01-29 04:24:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21404146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HachiroKenichi/pseuds/HachiroKenichi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladychance/pseuds/ladychance
Summary: Hachi's side of the story!
Relationships: Hachi/Rhiel
Series: The Institute [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542754
Kudos: 1





	1. Smoke Break

**Introducing: Hachi. **(Author’s note: I may flesh this out into a full writing, but for now, you’re gettin’ this exposition dump.)**  
**The dog was always a bit of an odd one. Things never quite seemed to go his way all through growing up, luck rarely felt to be on his side. Dice would come up snake eyes, the genetic lottery never seemed to be kind to him.

That should have told him something.

He'd always held a "could be possible, but I doubt it" sort of attitude to the supernatural. That all seemed to melt away one summer's day, not long after his 23rd birthday, when an odd shimmer appeared before him, and, rather inconveniently, he tripped over his own two goddamn feet. It felt like years before he'd woken up again, if his perpetually aching and stiff body was to be believed. The place where he had woken up?

Supernaturals, humans, and all sorts in between walked the streets with each other. It seemed to be a typical, dense place. Seedy underbelly stratified out from the rich elite, yet all became oddly homogenous at the nightclubs. A bit of time adjusting, it took. (This sort of thing seemed to happen more than one might have assumed. The city served as a hub to those who had discovered their ability to hop between realms and utilize those rifts.) He found sanctuary in those nightclubs, the city's perpetual twilight lent to a club that never needed to sleep.

It was here the downsides of his genetic lottery seemed to rear their ugly heads again. Chemical imbalances in his brain (commonly known as "depression" and "anxiety") mixed poorly, or very very well, depending on your viewpoint, with the free flow of booze and drugs in these dens of depravity. He already had something of an addictive personality, and this seemed to put him over the edge. vicious cocktails swam through his veins night after night, the formerly relatively chubby dog dropped weight like a stone, his arms took to skidmarks like a drag strip had been set up on them.

He didn't look good, to put it mildly.

Heroin is a hell of a drug. Blissful release for the time it's in you, and vicious withdrawal for the times it wasn't. His drug of choice, if only because it seemed to make the depression bat itself back for a little while, it was this vice that would ultimately serve to be his undoing.

A bad batch, or tainted, he never really did get to find out. All he knew was that between fadeouts, he was stumbling the streets in the throes of a very, very lethal overdose. Delirious and fading quickly, he'd collapsed into a gutter somewhere in the city, muttering sweet nothings to himself as he quickly came to terms with his mortality.

Damn good samaritans. A "young" vampire, at least, young when he'd been turned, happened upon the twitching mass of skin and bones. Perhaps it was pity, empathy, or a vision of what he'd been that took him to saving the poor dog. "Saving."

The next thing Hachi remembered was waking up in a coffin. Not ideal for the anxiety addled brain he possessed, though his body staunchly refused to comply. At all. Weakness like he'd never felt took over his body, stopping him from doing so much as flex his hand. The sound of... Shovels above him gave a conflicted response. Was he being dug out, or buried in? The thump of a shovel's blade on the stone lid of the tomb answered the question a moment later, and a few minutes passed before the lid was shoved free. A vaguely familiar face appeared before him, and hauled him free of the coffin.

One difficult decision, and disturbing ritual later, he was a fledgling vampire with a fancy new set of fangs, and an even more gaunt appearance than before. Good thing glamour is a natural skill once you’re turned.

A relationship between him and his new sire invariably developed, the two growing close enough to consider each other partners. This, of course, made it all the more difficult when the fickle nature of rift-hopping hubs became abundantly apparent.

The city began to fracture apart, rifts falling open and swallowing whatever happened to be nearby. Naturally, Hachi and his partner were nowhere near each other at the time.

It took years. Many, many years for them to come together again. Hachi had settled on a place not unlike earth, taking his time to learn skills with the benefit of a less strict timeline. Still suffering from his own demons, he saw fit to try and help others with theirs. A doctor of psychiatry, he found himself in the employ of a rather expansive teaching hospital, Atamori Institute.

The irony of a depressed, drug addict vampire helping others with their own issues of depression, addiction, and all other manners of ailments isn't lost on the dog. Though, he is confused as to why what is now a purely academic habit is so hard to give up. Vampirism comes with many perks, and the inherent resistance to diseases, addiction included, is one of them. Still, he's a friend of the needle.

Maybe he'll get into rehab. Soon. Tomorrow. Always tomorrow.

**  
… **Tomorrow finally came.

-

Group was bullshit. Solo therapy was bullshit. Sobriety was bullshit. Rhiel felt like his skin was going to crawl right off his body, and he knew _exactly_ what would lay that feeling to rest. Just the thought made his throat dry with a thirst water wouldn't quench if he drank it for a thousand years. Probably. He was _not_ going to test it. He was going to get angry at everything and everyone instead because.... _because_. Ineal would want to talk about this. Rhiel just wanted to climb the walls and punch the next well-meaning orderly right in his smug, handsome-.

_Deep breaths._ Rhiel took a long drag off the vaporizer he kept in his hand about 98% of the time, and tried not to let it make him more angry when it just tasted like disappointment. What he wanted most, and what was shockingly hard to come by, was _genuine privacy_. Just some peace and quiet without someone telling him HOW to be peaceful and quiet and monitoring his progress and taking notes on just how peaceful and quiet he was or was not being. Rhiel had lived for a very long time with no one looking over his shoulder, and the ever-present watchful gaze was particularly oppressive in that exact moment.

_Rhiel, did something happen this morning that was different from yesterday?_

Ineal's calm, insidious, stupid, _charming_ voice rang in his head like a memory. Exactly when his own inner voice had picked up the Sergal's inflection, Rhiel wasn't sure and didn't want to think about it. Also, _no, fuck you, Doctor, I am not talking about it. Even if you are my imagination_.

Rhiel continued on his warpath, away from the little room they held group therapy in. Anywhere, just... Away. An ajar door leading down another hall seemed good, so he ducked through it and carried on. Either he'd get dragged back to his room, get lost, or he'd actually be left alone for ten fucking minutes without someone asking if he was okay.

-

Hachi was taking sobriety... Outwardly better than Rhiel seemed to be. The once relatively healthy-looking, if slightly wired and bag-eyed doctor was almost literally a shadow of his former self. Smart slacks and vests, ties, all that were traded in for dressing gowns, the occasional scrub pants and t-shirt combo, or something equally loose fitting and comfortable. Ineal had given the other vampire quite a wide berth, compared to his treatment of Rhiel.

Doctors rarely responded favourably to the same treatment given to patients. _How patronizing._ Hachi wasn't going _entirely_ cold turkey, either, as most patients <strike>Rhiel</strike> were encouraged and expected to do. Perk of being faculty, perhaps.

Still. Detoxing was taking a heavy toll on the dog all the same, and he was all the weaker for it. He'd not felt this weak in... ever, in spite of an uptick of feeding for him. Glamour was well beyond him, let alone his usual antics and party tricks to keep himself and the patients entertained.

Hachi's fall from grace wasn't spectacular. There was no massive blow-up, no screaming or resentment to his intervention. Staff had found him on the floor of his office a few weeks ago, well overdosed. Not much need for panic, most staff there knew of his state, and it is, in fact, quite hard to kill the dead. Atamori, the other owner of the institute, had been the driving force behind encouraging the doctor to step away from his duties for a while and take care of his own demons, figurative or otherwise. Rather counterintuitive to have someone counselling a patient on drug addiction be deep in the throes of it themselves.

Today was a T-shirt and scrub day, the dull teal garments hanging loosely over thin, digitigrade legs beneath, and a simple black tee hiding most of what little definition remained beneath it. His walk was no longer the brisk, long-striding gait the tall man was used to, now barely more than a shuffle as he walked down the quiet hallway. He'd make his way to the small courtyard at the end of it in time, have his smoke, and probably make it back to the cafeteria for lunch, he figured.

Hachi’s nose twitched into the air, and the canid lifted his head a bit to glance around. He'd forgotten how sensitive his nose could be. Oddly floral for a scent-sensitive place, it cut through the clinical stench of alcohol, nitrile, and iodine quite clearly. Ears twitched weakly up, and he glanced back to the rather irate looking patient power walking towards him.

-

Rhiel had to remind himself for the tenth time that morning that he had _chosen_ to be here. That he had wanted this. That no matter how angry he got, how coddled he felt, how bare and vulnerable and bitter and snappy.... He was continuing to choose to remain. For Arisa. For himself. For the sake of having a future where he didn't mourn the ineffectiveness of every method of suicide he'd tried so far- which, for all his melodrama, was only two. And it had been a very long time. Mostly because it hadn't worked.

_Though if it had, well, I wouldn't be doing it again then either_, he mused darkly, and took another, long, floral drag off the vape. The crackle of electricity in it was satisfying. And the heavy scent went a long way to keeping the hospital smell out of his nose. Rhiel had discovered very quickly that too much of that smell was a recipe for sleepless nights full of nightmares, and when he'd had the first waking flashback he'd been right at Ineal's door demanding the Bliss back before he lost his mind.

Rhiel hardly noticed the lanky man in scrubs until he was already passing, but his lashing tail _fwipped_ right toward the other man as he strode past. It was enough to startle Rhiel right out of his tirade, some semblance of manners staggering him to a halt so he could turn and flip the offending appendage away from Hachi and back into safely unoccupied space. Rhiel wasn't even sure if he'd smacked him with it. It almost didn't matter. "I. Am sorry." He managed, though the thought that ran through his head was more along the lines of ‘_wow, and I thought I looked like shit_.’

-

Hachi hadn't paid too much mind to the man storming forward, his ears keeping enough on him to know roughly how close he was, but beyond that he kept his gaze forward and down, just barely keeping the light of the exterior door in his field of vision. He tensed and turned quickly as the tail smacked into his calves, the hit causing him to stumble a bit, though he caught himself just as quickly.

No look of indignation, or shock was on his face. A soft, understanding smile cut through the skeletal face, and sunken, mismatched eyes of gold and violet still held a glimmer of compassion and patience. His bedside manner was always a point of favour to his patients. "Not a problem, not a problem." He said, his voice a raspy whisper, far from the smooth tenor he'd sounded like a few weeks ago. The dismissive, but reassuring wave of his hand revealed the tremor in it, before it was quickly stuffed back into the loose pocket of the scrubs.

A moment passed, to Hachi, and he twitched his head towards the door at the end of the hallway. "You headin' outside? I'm just goin' for a smoke, myself. Wouldn't decline company." He said, his tone lacking expectancy or anything of the sort, what little tone beyond flat he could muster at least. The more he talked, the farther it fell into a whisper until he stopped again.

-

"You look familiar..." Rhiel knew this face. It was a distinctive face. But the hollow cheeks and sunken eyes... that was different. Made it harder to place. And Rhiel had an eye for faces. But that thread was quickly derailed as he actually filtered in and processed Hachi's words, a function currently operating on a delay as all statements had to be carefully examined for potentially enraging material before being passed along to the rest of his brain. "They let you smoke?" He said, instead of anything friendly or polite. He sounded shocked, and a little upset. "You don't sound like you should be smoking."

-

Hachi cracked a bit more of a mischievous grin. "Mm, I've been around here for a while, saw you when you came in... Probably looked a bit better then." The unexpected follow up earned a weak bark of laughter. "They do when they don't know what I'm doing... And I can tell the nurses to piss off because I outrank them." He chuffed a bit in amusement. "Sound it? Hell, it's not the smoking that's doing this. 200 year old vocal cords and a lack of glamouring will do that much better..." He turned slowly and started walking towards the door again, at least now only a few tens of feet away.

-

Rhiel trailed after him, but refused to admit to himself that it had anything to do with the other man. He wasn't curious. He was _angry_, damnit. He had just been heading this way already. And there was a door to the outside where maybe, just maybe, there wouldn't be a babysitter already waiting to tell him what he needed to be doing, or to report back to Ineal his mood, or any of the other obnoxious things they liked to do. "You're one of the doctors, aren't you? What the fuck happened to you?"

-

Hachi's ear flicked as Rhiel put the pieces in place, casting a weary smile back over his shoulder. Silent until he hip-checked the crash bar, the impact visibly shook his entire body and earned a soft _uff_ from the vampire. The door seemed much heavier than it really was as the whisper-thin man let his weight open and hold it. "Mm-hmm... Let's say that I had a lot more demons before I started workin' here, and they really came to light. Smoke?" He had already slipped the black-wrapped packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, a pair of them tapped proud of the rest and presented to Rhiel in a quivering handpaw.

-

Oh, gods above and below, how he wanted it. Rhiel glanced at the vape in his hand, then the cigarette, and after a moment’s thought, stuffed the vape back into his pocket. Hachiro could have been an absolute ass up until that moment and won Rhiel's immediate friendship with that gesture. "Ineal will be pissed." Rhiel said, in a tone that suggested he wasn't worried about that at all. Mood he was in, he might even enjoy it.

"So. Just this once. You ah, should probably sit down, I think." Rhiel was, physically, far better off than he'd been before coming. When he wasn't off his head half the time, he actually remembered to eat. Of course, Rhiel's hunger struck him at strange hours of the day and night, so he just made sure to keep food nearby, just in case. And it was working.

-

Hachi grinned a bit wider. "Why d'you think I'm offerin'?" He wheezed a bit in a laugh, stepping clear of the door and letting it close behind him. The other cigarette was extracted from the packet with Hachi's lips, and said packet was pocketed to be replaced with a book of matches. The distinctive whoosh of a match being struck was followed shortly after by the subtle crackle, and spicy smoke of a clove cigarette emanating from behind the dog's hand.

_Flick._

"It's been a while since I had to use matches and lighters... Usually just..." He flicked his index claw against the pad of his thumb, shooting a weak, blood red spark from it, which dissipated much like a normal flint spark would. "But, well." He gestured vaguely to himself, as if that was explanation enough.

He was ahead of Rhiel's suggestion, halfway to the bench on one of the side walls of the small, square courtyard. From there it was clear it was within the main building, surrounded on all sides by the glass walls of the institute, to an open sky above.

-

"Where I come from, you just... light it on the pack. Or it's all vapor. Depends on what you're after." Talking about it made Rhiel miss it. He missed it every day, to varying intensities, sure, but this was more like... mourning. Some part of his brain seemed to have accepted that these were things of the past. And Rhiel wasn't at all sure how to feel about that.

On one hand, that was good, wasn't it? That was the point? But on the other, it took all the wind out of his sails, doused the anger, and replaced it with an uneasy sort of nostalgia for something he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to _miss_. He didn't light the cigarette. He seemed content just to hold it, for the moment, and he lingered standing near the bench with his tail curling around his own leg. "I'm not used to feeling like the good child in a room," he laughed, to cover the growing unease in the pit of his stomach.

-

Hachi gave a slow dip of his head in a nod, shakily settling himself on one end of the bench, and gesturing vaguely to the other end. "There's room for another without it gettin' awkward here." He leaned back on the bench, drawing slowly on the cigarette, then letting the purplish smoke drift out from his nose, and the sides of his jowls.

His grin split wide halfway through that at Rhiel's lament. "Mm, that's not the least common sentiment, actually. You'd... Probably be surprised how often I heard it." He waved the cigarette around in a vague gesture. "'I never thought I could be good, I was just supposed to be the bad kid and not make it out of high school, mom didn't care so I didn't either'... Bah. S'fatalistic bullshit." He sighed a bit, shaking his head and taking another long drag. "Lost cause mentalities are self fulfillin' prophecies... And yer just provin' that prophecies are bullshit, eh?"

-

Now that Hachiro had pointed it out, _not_ sitting down seemed rude. Even if he didn't really want to. Not because there was anything wrong with Hachi, but because... well, it was harder to run away from sitting, wasn't it? And, there was nothing to be afraid of because this was a safe place. Fuck, he hated just about everything about that thought, but it got him to creep closer and perch on the edge of the seat on the far end of the bench.

"I got stuck with some shit responsibilities back home." God of Deceit. God of Risk. God of Eternity. How much of that was in your bones and how much of it was choice? The fact that he continued to live despite all odds suggested at least one of those was inescapable. "I don't know. I feel like I'm losing myself, sometimes. I don't know how else to be."

-

Hachi blew a stream of smoke up in front of his nose, the plume dispersing in the still, sheltered air. "... Y'ever notice that talking with someone you haven't in a while invariably leads to real deep shit?" He chuffed in amusement, then coughed a bit. "It's not my job to make you lose yourself, that's your call whether you want to. Well. Not -our- job, anyway. S'just our job to help you find and build someone you'd rather be instead. Turns out... It's real fuckin' hard to tell someone 'Hey you're shitty, you should be someone different' and have it actually do something. Shame is far weaker than temptation, at least most of the time."

He hummed a bit, smiling subtly to the sky. "I like showing people they have options. They can do what they were doing, sure... Or they can try something new. It's... Not amazing. Depressing, more, how often it's just that people didn't know they could choose. Predestined to fail only works if you believe it."

-

"Yeah. I didn't... I didn't even mean to say anything." Wasn't he supposed to be angry? But there was something soulful about Hachiro. Sad. Quiet. And it made it hard to be angry at anything at all. And those words all sounded like advice that Doctor should be heeding, himself. What had brought him so low, that he was in the same place he put his patients, sneaking a smoke in the courtyard and looking like he was going to fall apart at any moment?

"I like how you put it better than how Ineal does. He's... untouchable, you know? Not on purpose, but it's all that charm and grace and manipulation. It's impossible to imagine him down here in the mire with the rest of us, and sometimes it makes me want to throw something at him."

-

Hachi drew as Rhiel spoke, a simple shrug offered to his initial... Apology? It didn't seem to faze Hachi, at least. Slowly, he exhaled at the vague praise. Tapping himself on the chest with his cigarette-wielding hand. "200ish..." He paused, gesturing towards the main offices' direction. Not that Rhiel would know. "8500 ish years old... He's good at what he does because he can get into your head so easily. That sort of... Well, magic, for want of a better term, is childs' play to someone like him... Don't discount his experience, though. Disarming charm has its places..." He settled a bit into the concrete bars of the bench.

"That said, though... He wouldn't blame you for it. Hell... I wouldn't be surprised if he used it, encouraged it out of you. For one reason or another." He chuffed in a single laugh. "Dude's weird like that... Respect where respect's due."

-

"He reminds me of my father. And that's not... a compliment. She got eaten by a god for being a bitch, mostly." Still, Rhiel did like Ineal, most of the time. But the ease with which the vampire unpicked all his thoughts and his insecurities and read him like a dime-store novel made him... uncomfortable. Understandably so. "But he's clever enough to know what to say, so I'm just... pissed at him, and he's still right, and that just pisses me off more, and then he tells me why I'm mad and _fuck_ it just gets under my skin. You think he's doing it on purpose?"

-

Hachi kept his eyes half lidded as he listened to Rhiel rant about the ancient man, huffing a bit at the question. "Yes and no... Actually, just, probably yes. He's... Really good at using anger constructively. Either bringing someone to the point of breakdown so they can realise things themselves, or using the anger and funneling it towards their recovery... It's why I said to throw shit at him if you get that pissed. He's not going to attack you. He's going to help you use it, or break you down to let you rebuild. Sounds scary, I know... But, hey. Recovery's scary sometimes."

-

Rhiel huffed, ran a hand through his hair, and took a long, deep breath. He wanted to light the cigarette. The smell of Hachi's was sweet and bitter at once, and it made his mouth water with craving. He set it on the arm of the bench to better card his hands through his hair, and caught himself counting quietly in his head. Some things were sticking, apparently. Whether he liked it or not. "All right. Well. When I do, I'll make sure to let him know who gave me the advice, yeah? So. Enough about me. I talk about myself all day. More important questions. Why isn't there anyone out here to spy on us?"

-

Rhiel would find a half used packet of matches tossed onto his lap as he mussed, or smoothed his hair. It was hard to tell at the time. "He'll give it back to me in time. It's always amusing to watch two immortals have a pissing contest between each other, eh?" He flashed a fanged grin, his gums gray as a winter sky. "There should be, actually, in about half an hour. It's a popular smoking spot... Among staff. Patients aren't supposed to be here. I badged out, actually." He pointed to the small black square next to the doorway, a red light showing its locked state.

-

Rhiel picked up the matches without hesitation. He had, loosely, planned not to smoke it at all. But since they were there.... He struck a match and tucked the stick in his mouth to light it. That first inhale was almost too good. His eyes fluttered shut and he offered the matches back to Hachi without looking in his direction. "The two of you sound like my sister and me. But... better-worse. Different. Maybe not at all the same." Rhiel chuckled quietly, amused at some private joke, and glanced toward the locked doors. He felt, in that moment, an immense wave of gratitude toward the husky-shaped vampire beside him. "Well. Thank you, for that. I needed this. Even if I get in trouble for it later, I needed it."

-

Hachi barked another weak laugh at the confused musing of Rhiel, pocketing the matches once again. "Don't mention it. Anyone asks... It's a prescription sample, a supplement to your treatment we're testing." He looked at his cigarette, about half left. He ashed the bit that still stuck to the butt, then drew again. "I never expect people to give up things cold turkey first try. There's a reason we keep stocks of narcotics and drugs on site, and it's not just for the fucked up research.” _He was joking... Right?_

-

Rhiel hoped, quite dearly, that he was joking. Just those words alone put a chill in the pit of his stomach that made his hand tremble. So he took another drag off the cigarette and tried not to let it feel like something sinister. He slid his gaze toward Hachi and tried on an uncomfortable smile. "Ineal weaned me off some of it. And I think, if I asked, he would.... But I don't want to ask. And he thinks I'm doing great, and I... I want to be doing great. Even if I want to climb the walls." He wanted to ask about that last comment so badly, but it stuck in his throat. Ineal had promised him he was safe here, and he didn't really have any choice but to trust him. Things were going too well.

Hachi nodded slowly, extending his left arm and tapping the crook of it twice. It was clear, on inspection, that scars and pits, and tracks galore marred the otherwise relatively smooth coating of fur along it. "That level of shit isn't gonna come off in a day... Heroin detox won't kill you, but if you're someone like me, it might kill someone else. You're not weak for weaning rather than slamming off it." He nodded reassuringly, smiling once again. "You're already doing better than a lot of my patients... You want to succeed, you want to do better... That's not even the first step, you're making progress."

-

"Well, thanks. And I really hope things get better for you, too. You're nice. You deserve to be happy, right?" Rhiel reinforced his smile and tried to hide the tremor in his fingers by knocking the ash off his cigarette. The nervous energy wasn't leaving. That simple, throw-away statement had awoken a fight-or-flight instinct in his brain that was not so easily laid to rest. He had to ask. It was definitely a joke. But. He still had to ask. "So, uh, research? What, like drug trials?"

-

Hachi flicked an ear, then nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, they're not really that bad. People know what they're going into, what they're trying. ‘S not like the old CIA jobs back in the cold war. Those days are long behind." He spoke reassuringly. Weary or not, Hachi could tell when someone was suddenly having the beginnings of a panic attack. Even he didn't know the extent of what Ineal did... And still, on occasion, would get up to.

Another long draw, and he winced as he felt the sudden heat of the cherry almost kissing the filter. He flicked the butt along the small patch, embers spraying out and dying quickly. He didn't seem to be in a rush to get up. "Hell. Half the time, the people straight up ask us if they can, we don't even have to offer."

-

"Oh, that's... that's all right then. That's fine." Rhiel wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or Hachi anymore. He also wasn't sure that it really mattered. Another drag. At this pace, the cigarette wasn't going to last long, but the burn did a lot to calm his frayed nerves. It was the ritual of smoking, the habit, the smell. And it didn't hurt any that the scent of smoke kept him from smelling the hospital itself, in that moment. It kept the flashbacks at bay, even if barely. "We wouldn't want to get caught out here, would we?"

-

Hachi grinned that fangy grin once again. "Remember, I still outrank the nurses. Doesn't really matter. S'long as you're with someone that has clearance, you can be anywhere in the place." He mused, though slowly, he did seem to start moving to stand. It was a shaky display, but soon he was on his feet once again, swaying slightly. "Don't rush on account o' anyone. Hell, half the orderlies and nurses don't care, they'll talk to you just the same as anyone else out 'ere." He seems to have done this before. "That said... You got somewhere to be after this, or just need to kill time?"

-

"I'm supposed to see Ineal this afternoon. I don't think I can get away with walking out on Group _and_ avoiding him. He'll probably worry and send someone to find me." Which was.... in its own way, actually kind of sweet. Even if it was annoying. And even if Rhiel had no idea how the fuck to feel about someone caring whether or not he was okay. It was still an adjustment.

Rhiel flicked the cherry off the end of the cigarette, and in a moment of ingenuity, tucked the remainder in his pocket. It wasn't much, but maybe just having it would help. That he _could_ smoke it if he chose to.

Hachi nodded. "Probably a good idea to do that, yeah. He _absolutely_ would do that." The husky wheezed another laugh out, starting to slowly make his way to the door, in a way that made it seem that there was a non zero chance that was near his top speed at the time. "I've just gotta take a pit stop at the canteen, grab a few capri suns and I'll be doing better. You want to tag along? I can come and 'protect' you from Ineal if you want me to, too." He chuckled a bit more at his own joke.

-

Rhiel dusted his hands off on his pants, as if that would remove the smell, and rose to follow Hachi. There was still a nervous curl to his tail, but he was doing his best to take the man's words to heart. Even if his brain was trying to ramp up without his permission, with such statements as: of course he'd lie. Of course he wouldn't tell you if they were up to something malicious. Of course Ineal would promise you were safe. How else would he convince you to come?

Those thoughts weren't helpful, but he couldn't stop them, either, so he let them run quietly in the background without paying too much attention. "Sure. Yeah, I'll come with you. You going to be in treatment for awhile yet, you think?"

-

Hachi paused with his hand on the door when Rhiel asked that final question. A morose, downward smile crossed his face, and he pulled the door open, visibly putting most of his weight into it until it swung fully open, and he stepped in front to hold it open. "C'mon, the door's heavy, or I'm really light. One o' the two." He smiled, brushing the question off. He didn't know himself, and he didn't want to know how long it would take him to come back to his "normal" self and abilities. It was taking more energy than he ever thought it would to get even this far, and no end in sight.

-

"Well. If you are, we should talk again, that's all," Rhiel offered, in a way that seemed almost like an apology. He had a feeling he might be here awhile himself. He caught the door as he stepped inside, so that it didn't catch Hachi when he took his weight off of it, but that could have been nothing more than habit, and not an attempt to help at all. "And not just because I think you'll be pretty handsome once you put some weight back on."

-

Hachi gave a grateful nod, rather sure that the door would have caught him. It had most other days. Those sunken eyes flicked to Rhiel's face, and a devilish smirk crossed the husky's face. "Not -just-?" He chuckled a bit. "Y'know, normally I'd chalk that up to passive seduction, but I got nothin' going on for me right now... Glamour happens before the seduction thing, so..." He waved his hand a bit in the air, walking along the hall, assuming Rhiel had followed him. Indeed, the speed he'd shown was pretty much as fast as he was going, a bit more than a shuffle, and at least stable enough that he didn't need the handrail. "That said... Yeah, I wouldn't mind hanging out again. You're not half bad. Name's Hachi, by the way. I don't think I mentioned."

-

"I can see potential in your cheekbones, no glamour needed," Rhiel explained, with a crook of a smile that made it light. He was only partly joking. Knowing who Hachi was, he could remember how he'd looked before. Thin, but otherwise healthy. He trailed along behind Hachi and tried to keep his tail in his own personal space. That didn't mean it listened, but he tried.

"Rhiel," he offered, and he would have held out his hand to shake, but he was genuinely concerned he might overbalance Hachi in the process. "You're not half bad either."

-

Hachi blinked a few times at the odd compliment, giving a slow nod as he realised there was a jovial slant to the statement, and offered a chuckle in return.


	2. Pit Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short update before the next, sets the scene. This is the last chapter before things may start getting ~saucy~.

The trundle along to the canteen brought them not to the main entrance, but to a small back entrance, which Hachi instructed Rhiel to wait outside of. A minute or so later, and he came back out with a trio of oddly labelled blood IV packs.

Untreated: Not for transfusion or testing use.

Implicit though their purpose was, it wasn't actually labelled for consumption. Perhaps to keep people from panicking. Hachi offered a sheepish smile to Rhiel. "I'd offer some, but, well. I don't know how well you'd take it." He chuckled a bit. "I can wait until we get somewhere where you don't have to watch."

-

Rhiel shrugged one shoulder, not so much as lifting a brow at Hachi's choice of snack. His tail curled with lingering stress, but none of that was Hachi's doing, he thought. It was just this place, his own fucked up head, looking for any crack or sliver of doubt, to convince him he wasn't safe and Ineal was just like The Good Doctor.

Rhiel couldn't even remember the bastard's name.

"It doesn't bother me, any. Don't worry. I know what you and Ineal are, as much as he's explained it. Did some research, guess I buy it. But no, I won't be asking you to share. I'm not allowed to partake in my personal liquid diet anymore."

-

Hachi seemed a bit relieved at Rhiel's lack of disgust or reaction. Helped him feel a little less freakish. "Ah, okay... Your personal liquid diet?" He cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head for a moment before nonchalantly biting the sealing valve off of the packet. Indeed, he drank it much like a kool-aid or capri sun pouch, though the effects it had on him were somewhat more immediate.

He started to perk up a bit. His mismatched eyes, as sunken as they were, seemed to bring a bit of their glow back. No glamour, just a result of energy being pushed back into him. "And-" His voice even sounded smoother. "-What he's explained? About us, that is. Now I'm curious." He chuckled a bit, cocking his head over towards another wing of the hospital, towards his own room.

-

"I'm an alcoholic, Hachi," Rhiel replied, as nonchalantly as possible. He tried to make light of it, put a laugh in it, but there was something heavy about those words that always stuck in his throat, just a little. He didn't want it to be A Thing. He didn't want it to be any kind of a big deal. Just another on a long list of personality flaws to be joked about and swept under the rug. Oh, that's just _Rhiel_, look at him, a big mess, ha ha. If it wasn't serious, maybe it was less dangerous, harder to hurt himself with. Maybe. (_No, not at all_).

It was good to see a little spark in Hachiro. It looked good on him. It was a tiny glimmer of a bright personality hiding under layers of mire and muck and hard living, and it made Rhiel deeply curious. What might this man be like, if not for the things that had brought him to this time, this place, this moment? He wanted to know, and so, he wanted Hachi to succeed at... whatever it was he was trying to do here. "Not everything, I'm sure. I think he was trying to bring me some ease. One immortal to another, and all that. I know what you eat, though I don't know why. I know you'll live until you're killed, like me. I know Ineal, at least, has some psychic ability, and he says he doesn't use it to influence me, but you can't lie to Deceit itself now can you?"

-

The dog stopped dead, his expression first deadpan, then rather sheepish. "... I should have thought of that before asking. Apologies." He self-consciously sipped at the pack once again. The vampire could tell the taller one didn't seem to want to dwell on it, though, and he cleared his throat to move on. "Ah, yeah. I'm pretty good about it if you've got questions about it. The psychic thing... Well. I'm not doing what he's able to do, put it that way. Least of all in this sort of state... Mindwalking like he can is an intensely... I don't want to say intimate, but it requires focus and skill at navigating one both in their mind and on the surface."

He sighed a bit, starting to walk off towards his room, expecting Rhiel to follow as he spoke. "The good thing is... You'll absolutely know if he's in there. I've had people with D.I.D. describe it as realising there's another alter in their head, it's very obvious." He swayed his thinned tail a bit, now, his pace picking up the more he drank. "Oh, and... Live is a bit of a misnomer, as it were. I don't believe he died the first time. I did." He chuckled with a smirk.

-

Rhiel was determined not to make a Thing out of it, so when Hachi apologized he just grinned his whole mouthful of teeth, pointed premolars and all, and made a gesture of brushing invisible dust from his shoulder. _It's nothing_. Nothing at all. He was here. He was taking care of it. The change in topic was very welcome.

Rhiel followed Hachi's gently swaying tail, and didn't comment on it <strike>even if it was precious</strike>. He thought on Hachi's words as he walked, and tried to pick out exactly what he'd meant, himself, in the first place. He knew Ineal hadn't crawled into his head and started rearranging like a new lover. It was something more subtle. Something his mind wanted to call insidious even if the rational parts of him knew there was no ill-will behind it.

Rhiel tugged his braid over his shoulder and wrapped it around his hand, unwrapped it, twisted it. It was a convenient fidget, and the tingle of slight, tugging pain helped him focus. "I don't think he's trying to creep into my head. I think he's honest enough about that. But influence can be in small ways, too. I think he influences my mood, more than anything. When I'm around him I don't... I'm not as thirsty. And it's not as loud outside my head," he explained, and then released his hair to gesture, flourishing, with both hands, a universal 'I have no idea' that could have struck someone in the face if they'd been unlucky enough to be standing beside him in that moment.

"Life is what we make of it, right? I've died. Kind of. It's complicated. Like yours is, too, I bet. Death isn't necessarily the end of life. It just changes it."

-

Hachi's ears lifted as Rhiel spoke again, and the barest hint of a smile twitched the corners of his maw, the hint of it visible from behind. "Vampiric seduction is more than just dragging someone into bed and having them want it, or getting someone to let us feed, you know. It's kind of a permanent buff to persuasion... And, if you'll pardon my further geekery..." He paused, taking another sip to finish off the first pack. "... A permanent aura of calm. Helps people deal with the whole 'speaking to the undead that may or may not want to suck your blaahd, blahh.' and whatnot." He similarly gestured at nothing with the faux-transylvanian accent, chuckling a bit at himself.

"Just so happens... That's really, really feckin' useful in a hospital. Use your privilege for the greater good, isn't that how it goes? Or, well, should?" He gave a bit more of a wistful sigh, his shoulders slouching. "... That it does, though. That it does. I miss burgers. And chicken nuggets. And lasagna." He paused, stiffening for a moment, before briskly shaking his head. "Sorry, that got away from me for a second, there. My room's just..."

He stepped forward a few more paces, and pushed a door to their left open. Standing half inside, and holding the door open with his back as he turned to face Rhiel, he gave a soft, welcoming smile. "Here. Shall I take it you're coming inside, or did you want to go for a longer walk?"

_What a demure little smirk that smile turned into._


	3. Getting to know each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter before the smut really kicks in! This contains some suggestive lead-up, but will stop just shy of completely explicit contact. However, explicit discussion among the characters, some explicit preamble and description, and explicit references are to be expected. Still good character development in here, though!

Rhiel rather liked that little smile. It made him feel _good_, deep down, to think that maybe Hachi was enjoying his company- and they were both stone-cold sober. If Rhiel let himself think on it, which was a very dangerous thing to do, he'd realise this was the first time he'd talked to anyone because he _wanted_ to since Ineal had announced he was discontinuing the last of Mere's prescriptions, aside from the absolutely-necessary-for-life hormonal supplements.

This was a normal conversation. With another person. And they weren't rejecting him immediately. Hachi seemed nice, had been through some shit of his own, and saw something in Rhiel that he liked. That was such a strange and foreign thought that Rhiel had to put it aside to discuss with Ineal later. When had Rhiel ever wanted the approval of others? (<strike>Always.</strike> Never. _Always._)

"How can I be sure you're not doing just that right now, trying to get me into your room, Hachi?" Rhiel was grinning as he said it, teasing, and he leaned closer in a way that made it clear he wanted to follow. "Not that I'd say no, even if you were. If that is an invitation." Unsure, just for a moment, and swept aside by false charm and an exaggerated lift of the brow and tilt of the head.

**-**

Hachi rolled his eyes at the accusation, a mock sigh slipping past his snout. "I might just be. I'm a lonely shit that is quite happy with some intellectual company to talk and relax with. Then again. I've got barely enough energy to start walking at a normal pace. Remember... Glamour comes before aura. You'd notice if I was doing something like that." He smirked wryly, chuckling. "Though... I suppose I wouldn't say no, either, if you're insinuating what I think you are. Might want to hold off on that for a little bit, though."

He subtly flicked his eyes over Rhiel's form once. Well. He wasn't the worst catch. And could carry a conversation enough to keep Hachi engaged. "It's an invitation to enter my abode, though, and that's high praise to begin with coming from a vampire. Given, you know... That whole thing with thresholds and the like. Don't take it as pressure, though. Invitation doesn't equal demand for me."

-

"Well, for now... let's be lonely shits together, and enjoy each other's company, maybe?" It wasn't supposed to be a question, but the self-doubt was lurking beneath the surface. "No pressure, no expectations, et cetera, absolutely clear as crystal."

Rhiel was still lean in the way that said he skipped meals as a matter of routine, but he was filling out between the ribs and in the hollows of his cheeks. He was a man slowly recovering and remembering how to exist in the world, and though he didn't sleep much at all, he was doing a little better every day. He was scrawny and angular, with a nose that entered the room well before the rest of him, set crooked too many times. No one would ever call him _beautiful_, but he was striking, and strange, and that made him handsome. Even Rhiel was curious how he'd look in a year or two, with the marks of hard living eased from his body. And for Hachi, he smiled, genuinely, not a trace of smarm or anger lingering, just something like hope kindling behind pale lavender-flower eyes. He had no idea how to make a friend, but he wanted to, maybe. It could be nice.

"If you pressured me, I'd leave." And that was an honest statement with a sliver of self-respect in it that Rhiel didn't know existed.

-

Hachi tilted his head in acknowledgement, bobbing it after approvingly. "Good. I expect nothing less, and I'm glad you feel proud enough to stand for yourself." The pup affirmed, a subtle hint of pride in his own voice. Sliding along his door, his eyes locked with Rhiel's for a moment, before flicking into the neatly maintained room. Seems vampires really did compulsively organise. Or was that counting... Same difference. Rhiel entered to find a fairly odd layout compared to other patient dorms.

Naturally, it was a single occupancy room, something more like a live in hotel suite. A small office area made clear Hachi hadn't totally let himself stop working. Ata seemed to be less than angry about it; it kept him from sitting idle for too long. Otherwise, an en-suite bathroom stood to their left as they entered, leading on to a small kitchenette, and a single queen-size bed. Given the extra space, a small sitting area had been set up, a couch and a pair of easy chairs framing three of four sides of an oblong coffee table. Very homely.

-

Rhiel followed Hachi in without hesitation, tail raised to follow behind him like a banner. The approval sat below his heart, a warm glow that radiated outward, and brought the faintest flush to his face. Being pale had downsides, and the ease with which he blushed, when pleased, when angry, when drunk, when aroused, when tired.... was definitely among them. He tugged his shirt smooth at the hem and fixed his attention on his surroundings instead. It certainly wasn't what he'd expected, but he wasn't really sure what he had, either.

"Has this been here long? Because from the looks of it, it's like they were expecting you," Rhiel said, lightly, but the curiosity was definitely real. He stepped forward into the seating area, peering around without bothering to hide that he was snooping around a little. He didn't see a point in the pretence.

-

Hachi watched that tail flick up, suppressing the urge to giggle at the cute little display, not to mention that subtle flush. Praise seemed to work... Once Rhiel was properly in the room, he finally stepped away from the door and allowed it to softly hiss shut on its damper. It latched shut with a soft thump, and a chirp indicated the room's lock was controlling access. He slouched along behind Rhiel, standing at the mouth of the hallway into the main area.

He didn't seem fazed about Rhiel's snooping, he never left anything out that anyone he'd trust into his room couldn't see. The computer took care of that sort of patient security, anyway. "Hm? Oh, nah. I only really crashed about a month ago. Doesn't take long to set up a suite, though. Week, tops." He mused, having already bitten the valve off the second blood pack and started nursing at it. Slowly pushing off the wall between sips, he sauntered somewhat languidly over to the bed, setting onto it and half reclining along its edge. "Being a doctor here has its perks, like I said, though~"

-

Rhiel flinched when the door latched, but that was such an ingrained reaction that he himself didn't register it. He just turned to follow Hachi, didn't read too much into _where_, and leaned against the wall rather than intrude too much on a very personal space. Nicely appointed. Very clean. Not what you would usually expect to see from someone in recovery. Rhiel's own space was only as neat as he was forced to keep it. There was food under the bed and empty wrappers under his covers, right this minute, he knew.

Did Hachi even sleep? "Do you sleep?" He hadn't meant to ask. Too late. Impulse control still needed a lot of work. "Is the bed just for show?"

-

Hachi bared that viciously fanged grin, the cool light glinting off the pink-stained tips. A bit off guard, he kind of liked the questioning. It was fun. "No, I'm perpetually awake. I can taste colours and see touches." The teasing sarcasm was clear. "Nah, I sleep every, like... Four days on average? A little more lately since, y'know, lacking energy, but yeah." He hummed a bit as he mused.

"One of the perks is we can get a lot of work done before needing to crash for, like, 20 hours straight. Ineal, well... I think he's on week two... Maybe three. But he's out for literally a week of sleeping. Usually, anyway. Hibernation more like." He chuffed a bit, bouncing his leg on the bed and taking another sip. He almost finished off that second pack, much quicker than the first. "As for whether it's for show..." A demure smirk crossed his muzzle. "I sleep in it. But given that ratio of wakefulness to sleep, eh, I'll let you think whatever you want about that."

-

Hachi might laugh but... as Rhiel himself had been awake for a span of days uncounting- his roommate snored-, and things were a little weird around the edges if he forgot to eat, he didn't quite get the sarcasm until Hachi carried on. But. Oh. Yes of course, a joke. Ha ha. This seemed like a good place to explain he understood the drive for productivity over sleep, but that was giving away more secrets in a first meeting than he wanted to.

Rhiel was caught up enough in his own personal dilemma that it took a moment still for Hachi's words to sink into his brain, unfold, and interpret through the language filter. Understanding brought a new blush, a nervous, toothy grin, and an aborted gesture that might have been him stepping away from the wall. He could tease back. He was good at it. But Hachi still looked like shit, and Rhiel still didn't know how he, personally, felt about it. This was one of the things that brought him here in the first place, this crawling about with strangers. But there was something different here, too. He was sober, for one. And he knew Hachi's name, for two.

"That's a bold statement. Even now? You got a string of pretty orderlies?" There was a curiosity behind the joke, feeling out the air in the room, giving Hachi the chance to dismiss it as all humor, or not. An easy out for both of them, if the flirting wasn't intentional or serious.

-

Hachi waved a free hand through the air dismissively at the accusation. "Orderlies? Bah, half the time they're too busy, too frazzled, or too asleep to even care. Nah, there's sexual therapy programs here. Let people get things out with those that consent and can do it productively. And, well. Some people dig the skeletal look. Monster-fuckers, or whatever." Again, the dog didn't seem fazed in the slightest about such lines of questioning, rolling with it with shameless openness.

Even if he did get a little flutter of excitement from it.

"Well, that, and, y'know. Exotic anatomy downstairs. There's a few sapient folk that are quadrupedal, but some don't want to go that far with it. I get to be a happy medium when I get time to. No pun intended, what with the paranormal things, that is."

-

"Exotic?" Rhiel _had_ wondered. Almost immediately, his gaze flicked down at the question and it was only some buried set of manners that dragged it back up to Hachi's face. Exotic _how_, he wondered. The rest of the statement seemed to suggest he had more than a face in common with canines, but Rhiel had seen enough different planets, realms, and species, not to dare assume. He could still be surprised.

The question seemed rude even to Rhiel, but then... Hachi had brought it up. "I don't think someone has to be a monster-fucker to find you attractive. You don't look your best right now but... I saw you before. And I can see that in you still."

-

Hachi easily caught that gaze, his teeth flashing in the quickest of smirks, a giggle held back quite well once again. "Yeah, got the plumbing down there too. Bone and all. Can't really complain, s'fun enough." He hummed a bit, shifting a bit more onto the bed to recline against the pillows and headboard. "Mmm, well. You don't need to try and flatter me. It's part that... Well. People don't like being called feral-fuckers. Makes 'em sound like they'll fuck true ferals, which, y'know, yeah. Either way." He waved his paw again dismissively in the air. An awkward subject to be sure, there.

"That said... You also have seen me before I was like... This. So there's something to go on. I don't mind being seen as an exotic lay, or something along those lines in general. Been around the block enough times that nothing really fazes me... And hey, s'kinda fun sometimes. What are they gonna do, stalk me? Fast ways to deal with that."

-

"Oh, I know plenty about being an 'exotic lay'," Rhiel mused, with a long, fluid flick that travelled the whole length of his tail. "Been the stranger in plenty of locales. You kind of get to have your pick, but it gets... tiring, too." How to voice that feeling? The desire to be wanted for himself and not his appearance? How to even begin to process it? He hadn't. He never had. He'd just drank it into submission, and only had a handful of people ever see through it, through his facade, to the man beneath. Like Arisa-.

Rhiel flashed his teeth again, a nervous grin, but he stepped away from the wall and strode over to the bed. He sat on the edge of it with a casual air that was about ninety percent manufactured, but he pretended well. Feelings were complicated. Words were complicated. The suggestion that hung between them was something simple, something he knew. He felt like he'd been doing something new and difficult every single day since he arrived, all work, no rest, just the unfurling and unveiling of something he didn't understand and didn't have the tools yet to cope with, revealed and naked and persisting.

Rhiel put one hand on the mattress and leaned toward Hachi, the anxious edges wearing off his grin and leaving something almost sweet behind. He had no idea. His own vulnerability, the thing he'd fled this morning to escape, was showing again, and he was utterly unaware. He'd be angry again if he knew, because it frightened him. "And anyway, it's not flattery if it's true, right? You seem... really nice, Hachi."

-

Hachi flashed his teeth in a grin at Rhiel's musing, slightly pinkish stained from his recent "snack". "... Yeah... I can't really deny that. Then again. There's the flip-side. I've had to get the fuck out of dodge on more than one occasion, y'know. Vampires are devil beasts and whatnot." He sighed a bit wistfully. "It is nice to feel... Really wanted, not just lusted for. S'been awhile since I had that..." He gained a bittersweet sting to his face, pursing his lips slightly as the toothy grin closed down.

His head flicked back towards Rhiel as he moved, following as he came towards the bed, until the gaze fell back to his own knees. He drew his legs up a bit to give the older one a bit more space to sit, letting that bittersweet silence hang between them for a little while. Oddly, he could feel his own melancholy state ebbing away as Rhiel's grin became more natural and real. He looked the other more directly in the eyes, his ear flicking at the compliment.

"I mean... I wouldn't have invited you into my room if I didn't think you were pretty alright, too... I still think it's flattery, though." He giggled a bit, sitting back up on one arm at first, until he rolled forward and rested his arms onto his lifted lap. He'd closed the distance... At least a little bit.

-

The flick of Hachi's ear drew Rhiel's eye, and an impulse he felt sure was rude welled up within him. And because he had no self control, he acted on it, lifted a hand and leaned over so that his hand came up to one of those huge, fluffy- if currently rather scraggly- ears. He burrowed his fingers into the vampire's hair, and scritched gently at the base of his ear. They looked soft, and he'd seen someone pet a dog once.

The movement brought him closer, had him leaning well into Hachi's personal space, the air between them a bubble they only barely maintained still. The hesitation was new for Rhiel. Two months ago, he would have had Hachi half undressed and pinned beneath him already. But now, though he was intrigued, and though the idea of some release, some simple pleasure, was appealing- the things he wanted most of all was for Hachi to _like_ him. To have a chance to speak to him again. To learn more about him- and all unrelated to whatever might occur here. "You don't know me. You just know I'm here for a reason. I am a little unhinged, you know."

-

Hachi flinched at first, the motion felt somewhat sudden... It was perhaps indicative of his lack of such intimacy. The dog was in a similar position as Rhiel, a small part of him was surprised they hadn't already had their hands on every inch of each others flesh. It took a few moments for Hachi's expression to shift, the nervous apprehension replaced with a deep seated relaxation and bliss. Those mismatched eyes half lidded, and he slowly leaned forward into the petting. A slow breath, conspicuous by its previous absence, was released with a contented sigh.

All said, Hachi felt... Less soft than he usually would have. Certainly he wasn't wiry, but the thin fuzz covering his ear wasn't the plush he liked it to be. He was cold, as well. The skin lacked the tautness one would expect, shifting more under Rhiel's fingers than one would be used to.

He started slightly, more obvious now that Rhiel could feel the twitch, when he heard a voice once again. "Mm... Yeah, well..." He paused, his own paw coming up and gently cradling the side of Rhiel's head, and pulling. If allowed, he'd press their foreheads half together, keeping Rhiel free from interfering with his own petting. "So am I... Wouldn't be here like this if I wasn't."

-

Rhiel, at least, didn't have many expectations on what petting a vampiric husky man would feel like. He didn't even have any expectations for what petting a dog would feel like. But even if the chilled flesh was a little strange, the bliss on Hachi's face more than made up for it. Long, strong fingers sank into Hachi's hair, rubbing the base of his ear and the scalp adjacent to it, carefully but thoroughly.

It was satisfying to watch those eyes fall half shut, to hear that huff of breath. The idea of just... touching another person felt strange, but it felt good, too. The look on Hachi's face was its own reward, and it filled him with a glow of satisfaction not unlike the praise had. It was a little like submission, and service done well, but... softer. Kinder. Was this why people did nice things?

Rhiel leaned into the urging of Hachi's touch, until his face was tucked against the other man's, his own breath near enough to stir the strands of Hachi's hair. He hummed thoughtfully, deep in his chest, curious and acknowledgement in one. Hachi was right, of course. He was taking no more risk than Rhiel himself was. Less, perhaps. Only one of them was essentially a container for the other's primary source of food.

That thought caught, snagged- what would the blood of a god be to a vampire?-, and Rhiel shoved it down forcefully. He slid his hand back further into Hachi's hair, nails dragging along his scalp in a long scritch, instead of letting himself dwell.

-

Hachi's shoulders lifted slightly as Rhiel became more intent with the rubbing, their closeness sinking his eyes almost completely closed. His own paw slowly came to mimic some of Rhiel's motions, his long, claw-like nails running through the kirinae's hair and down to his scalp as well, perhaps done more gently given the sharper point they sported.

The pressure Hachi leaned in with grew as Rhiel's vocalising spread through him, a deep set calm starting to radiate from the vampire. He felt Rhiel's pause, the subtlest of twitches indicating that, until he felt his fur bristle and hackles raise at the sensation of that longer, more intent draw of nails on his scalp. The breathing in was sharp, and he gulped a bit before giving a shuddering sigh out. "W-warn me before you do that next time..." He chuckled a bit. There was no hint of discomfort or anger in his voice. Quite the opposite; it felt _damn good_.

Hachi's paw resumed its slow rubbing, half caress of the kirinae's face, seeming content to stay right there for a long while indeed.

-

"What? This?" Rhiel wondered, just before another long drag of his nails through Hachi's hair, with mischief in his voice. The blush was back, a warm flush from the tips of his ears down to his chest, color on pale skin that usually looked lifeless beneath harsh, industrial lighting. He was leaning into Hachi's touch without realising, hungry for the affection in a way he was loathe to admit even to himself. It felt _good_. Why hadn't he let anyone do this before?

There was a growing sense of exposure, but he'd been feeling that since he arrived at the institute. In the face of the pleasure of just being touched, it seemed pale. This was too good to give up because of fear. He wanted to shove Hachi down on the bed and bury his face in the other man's hair, breathe his scent, and just be _close_. It was a desire he was utterly unfamiliar with, but, in that moment, nothing else in all the worlds seemed like it could be more satisfying.

Rhiel shuddered, a shiver that ran all the way down his spine and flicked his tail, and his own eyes fluttered shut. It was a little like being drunk, the way his thoughts fogged under the influence of touch. That lack of clarity made it easier to turn his head and press a kiss to Hachi's palm, without questioning himself. He wanted to, and so, he did.

-

The vampire's fur bristled up, revealing the paleness of the flesh beneath it much more readily, especially with how thin the fur was seeming, now. A slight dig of his claws into the other's skin was more a side effect of the sensation than a warning, no matter how it really seemed. He gave a shuddering breath out, slumping his meager, barely noticeable weight even more against Rhiel's head.

Slowly, Hachi let his hand trail down Rhiel's face, another gentle caress to his jaw, and held it for the moment as Rhiel turned. The kiss was... Curiously placed, but he smiled warmly to himself, huffing a bit at it. "Y'know... There's better places to kiss..." He chuckled a bit, his hand curling under Rhiel's chin once he'd placed that kiss. Finally he broke their head-to head contact, tipping the elder man's head slightly to look at the sunken, yet oddly warmed eyes more directly on.

"Of course... That's if you want to. Wouldn't want to impose that, y'know..." He giggled a bit, half nervous, half teasing. He was straight out _daring_ Rhiel to kiss him. <strike>To take him right then and there.</strike>

**-**

Rhiel did not answer in words. He shifted his hand in Hachi's hair, sliding back, back, until it cupped the base of his skull. The vampire's flesh was so cold against his fingers, and if not for the brightness in his eyes, in his voice, it might have been off-putting. But it was easy to accept, process, and move past. This was how Hachi was. He'd lain with stranger. It was just another thing to experience.

Rhiel pulled the other man closer with that hand, to bring their mouths together, warming the air with his own soft exhale of breath. How, exactly, to kiss someone like Hachi, he wasn't entirely certain, but he figured it would become apparent soon enough. His mouth on Hachi's was a good start. His free hand coming to rest on Hachi's waist seemed like another, fingers sneaking beneath the hem of his shirt until they burrowed into the fur there instead. He could think of a few more places to kiss, too. It was such a strange thing to want to, with such clarity, such awareness of the moment, of the way that Hachi felt beneath his hands, of the eager tension in the other man's voice.

-

Hachi should have expected Rhiel to take the prodding, and yet, his eyes briefly shot open as Rhiel's lips hit his. Comparatively, they were on fire. His head tipped slightly to allow a bit more of a "normal" lock. The vampire's legs slid finally down from their half-cocked position, falling flat sideways on the bed between them. It didn't take long for that half-lidded expression of calm bliss to overtake his face once again, a slow, cool breath meeting Rhiel's warm one.

The hand didn't take long to work out from beneath Rhiel's chin, either, cupping around much like Rhiel's had to him. Caught a bit on the back foot from the lunge, the more frail of the two braced himself with his free hand back on the bed. He wasn't sure just why the touch of the other was so... Electrifying, for lack of a better term. Wherever those slender fingers touched seemed to tingle and buzz, warmed through.

Indeed, his body was barely distinct from room temperature, comparatively cold to the far more living man's flesh. His lips perhaps moreso, tinged with the faint, metallic tang of blood, still warm from the recent snack. He held that kiss for a few more seconds, before letting his lips slide off to the side, half resting on Rhiel's _cheek. "I didn't know I needed that too..." _He whispered, almost ashamed to admit it, himself.

-

Hachi felt frail in his arms, brittle, hesitant. But, Rhiel could feel the need underneath it all. It rang clear in him like an echo. It compelled him to pull the other man closer, half in his lap, if he was willing. Rhiel could feel his own pulse thundering in his ears as the craving hit him, as strong as any yearning for liquor or smoke or pills. There was something here he needed, too. Something he wanted so badly, but he couldn't place it. It was something to do with the soft breath against his mouth, with the gentle touch on his face, his neck, his hair. It was a sweetness he'd known once before and swiftly fled. Because this was dangerous, too.

"I didn't either," Rhiel confessed, flush diffused to an overall brightening of his skin, a pink that went right to the tips of his fingers.

Even the blood on Hachi's lips hadn't bothered him. It suited him, and this moment, bitter and metallic and sharp. So many changes in Rhiel's life and his person had been mingled with the scent of blood that he couldn't imagine this moment any other way. "Usually this plays out.... a little differently for me."

-

Hachi certainly couldn't deny the frailty of himself, though that was far from his mind. He rarely felt the need to feel safe in someone's arms... though perhaps now, given his state, it was more justified than it had been in a long while. Only as he was cradled so gently like this did he realise just how fragile the past little while had made him. Even with his boost of energy, and the time he'd taken healing... He felt as though he was made of paper and glass, and somehow... Rhiel couldn't break him.

Hachi felt that heartbeat, twofold in intensity. Their closeness had the pounding ringing in his own sensitive ears, and one of the many senses he'd acquired had him feeling that heartbeat down to his core. Given its closeness, it seemed to come from all around rather than the usual pinpoint he could hunt with. Not that he really needed to hunt, lately.

Rhiel's voice snapped him out of the fog that the heartbeat had drawn him into, the husky still weak from... Everything. He shuddered as he took his breaths, not used to it, and certainly more than a little worked up, for _all of the reasons_. He smiled all the same at Rhiel's pinkening, giggling just a bit at it.

A tilt of his head at the admission, he smiled a bit more. "Well... If I'm honest, I half expected to be pinned back and far more... Well, you know." He gave a bit of a sheepishly demure smirk, his tail flicking and thumping slightly on the bed behind him. "Not that I'm complaining... This... This is good."

-

Rhiel chuckled at Hachi's confession. That sounded about right, for his usual flings. And usually, Rhiel was one to take a back seat, let what would be... be. He tightened his arms around Hachi, drew him closer, and ducked his head to nuzzle into the husky's neck and shoulder, some instinct driving him to seek the source of scent, encouraging him to kiss and bite- though that he resisted for the moment.

"That makes two of us. Not that I was expecting this, exactly. Kind of planned against it. Wanted to, though." Rhiel had a feeling he was rambling. He was defenceless to stop it, just as he was of the gradual southward migration of blood, depriving his brain of precious oxygen it needed to keep overthinking this.

-

Hachi let himself be rather easily pulled into the embrace, not that he had much weight to throw around at the moment, anyway. He seemed to settle in for a moment, until Rhiel's face buried towards his neck. Such a motion would usually result in a bit more of a... Startled reaction from a vampire, usually involving a thrown other party. Aside from a sudden bristle of fur, though, the deep-set tingle that ran through him... Enticed him. That was unexpected.

Rhiel would likely feel a pair of somewhat small bump-like scars in his exploration of the crook of the dog's neck, not to mention a soft, subtle smell of dust, with a bare hint of the dog's former natural musk he used to be so proud of. "Mm... I don't think I was really expecting any of this. Ain't felt this way... Well..." He flushed the little bit he could beneath his fur. "... Since I was turned..." He spoke much more softly. There was a story implied there. Maybe it would come out in time.

Hachi's hands slowly worked up Rhiel's chest, around to his back, and curled beneath his arms. One slid up further, cradling around the base of Rhiel's head, and keeping it gently pressed into his neck. "... Y'know... You can..." He said, half betting on Rhiel's want while he was there.

-

Rhiel hummed at the permission granted, and pressed a kiss to the hinge of Hachi's jaw first, then trailing lower, down to the prominent hollow above his collarbones. How beautiful he could be, Rhiel thought, with time and care and healing. Hachi still had so much mending to do- and so did Rhiel. It made the closeness easier. It explained the unexpected intimacy. There was a shared experience between them, and one they both had trouble communicating to others. Here, they didn't need to explain it. It lay quiet between them and bridged the gap between two strangers.


	4. The Big One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THEY'RE FINALLY DOING THE NASTY. This chapter contains explicit, gay sex between two consenting adults, one of which has an animalistic, anatomically correct set of junk. If that ain't your thing, skip this chapter.

"I don't know if I've ever felt this way. I spent a long time trying not to feel anything at all and now... How can you remember something you kept locked away?" Rhiel sighed, long and deep. The warm air diffused in the vampire's fur, and he nibbled, oh so delicately, on the ridge of his collarbone. His sharp eyeteeth were impossibly gentle against tissue-thin skin. "I was married," he murmured, thoughtful, head tilting to glance up at Hachi's face, gauging his mood, his reactions. "But I wasn't present then, either."

-

Hachi shuddered slightly with each of those touches, unused to gentle passion like this. No doubt he was in a similar boat to Rhiel. Lately his "experiences" had been far more... Carnal and casual. He didn't even think he'd wanted something like this from any of them. In fairness... He probably still didn't. This feeling wasn't something any patient or fling partner could provide, not like this.

Hachi's fingers slowly worked up and under the thick hair he'd been idly cupping until then, unexpectedly soft pawpads, cool though they were, stroking over Rhiel's scalp. "I... I know how you feel. Spent a hundred odd years drifting around with no want for anything..." He offered another shudder of a breath. For someone that didn't need to breathe... He certainly found expressiveness in it.

There came a sharp gasp as those teeth trailed so dangerously close to his extant scars, his tail pricking up into the air more out of shock from the sensation than anything else. He clenched his jaw, much as he clutched at Rhiel's head along with it. Definitely more sensitive than he'd banked on. It took a few moments for Hachi to parse what Rhiel said, but his expression didn't seem to change when he did. The subtle twitch of a nod, and he resumed the gentle kneading and stroking where his paw laid. "It's okay... I won't ask for any more than you want to tell." He smiled slightly, just the barest hint of openness.

-

Hachi's reaction was... interesting. Enough to distract Rhiel from the potentially dark and dangerous path his mind wanted to travel down. Teagan had not seen the best of him, no, but neither had Rhiel. This was all new. He couldn't change the person he had been, but he could change who he was becoming. And that meant, right now, being present in the moment. It felt important. They both deserved it.

"Another time, I'll tell you. It's not any secrets, but... He doesn't matter right now. He's not the man in my lap, now is he?" Rhiel flashed a grin, a flicker of dark humour, and nuzzled against Hachi's throat again. More kisses, soft, warm, against such tender, vulnerable flesh. His own heartbeat was a dull throb throughout his body, blood close to his skin, senses over-sharp. He could hear Hachi's expressive breaths, could smell the subtle changes in his scent as arousal grew between them. New, delicious things he'd never consciously noticed before.

-

Hachi didn't know the effect he was having on Rhiel, keeping him grounded, but would have been glad if he had. "Mmmh... N-No, I suppose he's..." He trailed off, tail borderline thrashing about behind him in a rather telltale showing of just what the poor vampire was going through. He'd certainly not prepared for this, though nothing really could have given what had transpired between them already.

The long, somewhat slender muzzle kept its side pressed to the kirinae's cheek, slowly stroking up and down as Rhiel explored the subtleties of Hachi's scents and sensations. This, at least, he wasn't wholly unused to. He liked it. His body a playground... Though few would take such care and intimacy when playing on it.

Hachi slowly slid his hand from Rhiel's head, slow breaths rolling out of his nose. It was strange. For once, Hachi wasn't really sure how to move forward. It would be shots in the dark. And so, he gave a gentle pull on Rhiel's back, shifting his own weight to less than subtly show he intended to fall back.

-

Rhiel followed Hachi's lead and let the other man tug him along until they were both stretched out on the bed. Rhiel didn't mind the close proximity, their legs tangled together, his own tail draping over them. There was a lot of it. It kind of did what it wanted. As if aware of the thought, it stirred and slithered along Hachi's thigh like a thing alive, dragging over sensitive flesh still covered in cloth.

Rhiel ended up with one hand under Hachi's shirt, pushing the garment halfway up, and his other arm resting elbow-first against the mattress above Hachi's head. His knee was between Hachi's legs, something that put a wicked glint in his eyes as he looked down at the man beneath him, his braid mussed and spilling over his shoulder, the sharp points of his teeth visible in the half-grin. "Hello," He purred--literally. There was a low rumble in his voice, revealing itself as his reservations began to fade. This was... Happening. He didn't really want to stop. Whatever this was. This strangely intimate, warm thing. He could feel Hachi's hand on his cheek even after it was gone.

-

Hachi's tail stuck out somewhat awkwardly at an angle to his side, about the only place it could go from behind. (What with the half made pile of pillows and blankets to his other side.) The dog's leg lifted subtly up between Rhiel's legs, goaded up by that tail's intent-seeming exploration. He giggled a bit at the sensation, blushing, and altogether seeming rather more demure than even before.

Hachi felt about as thin as he looked, skin looser and softer than one would usually expect, moreso beneath the thin fur so... Unlike his species was supposed to have. He shuddered beneath that toothy grin. It wasn't often he was on the receiving end of such ministrations... Gods did he really miss it that much? "Hhhh-hi..." He hissed out, almost squeaking. Ears folded down, as shy as he suddenly felt, and seemed... It didn't stop the aching want in his body.

-

Rhiel's breath caught when Hachi's leg brushed against his groin, even the lightest touch enough to draw a shiver from him. There was no hiding how he felt about having the husky beneath him. It was actually becoming uncomfortably obvious. Rhiel didn't think he'd ever be grateful for sweatpants, and yet, there he was, a small prayer of thanks in the back of his mind to whatever god had compelled him to that decision when he'd dressed that morning. Which was, of course, himself.

Despite the confidence he wore on his face, the crooked grin, the glint in his eyes, Rhiel was honestly... a little nervous. He just hid it far better than Hachi did. He hadn't played this role in a long, long time, and the last one had been a woman. It was easier to get shoved against a wall and get fucked until he choked and begged. Leading the way seemed daunting in comparison, but seeing Hachi beneath him, demure, shy, nervous, that was something he could get behind. Or on top of. So he dipped his head to kiss the husky again, head tipped this time from the start, and a purr rumbling in his chest as their lips met, their bodies sliding more firmly together.

-

Hachi hadn't wholly anticipated making contact with his leg, but there was no mistaking what he'd touched. The flush, somehow turned a brighter shade of pale pink, and a sheepish grin split his lips open. Well, mostly sheepish. The (just) taller man's arms came up, draping first over Rhiel's back, and soon sliding down to rest at the belt-line of those relaxed-fitting sweatpants.

Well timed, it seemed. Hachi was half focused on that when Rhiel's lips met his, his eyes once again giving that brief pip of surprise before sliding closed once again. This time, he let his lips part somewhat, that broad, surprisingly soft, and perhaps more surprisingly dexterous tongue flitting against the kirinae's lips. A subtle request for entry. Whether granted or not, Hachi was going for broke, slender, claw-tipped fingers dipping beneath the waistband of those sweats, groping whatever he found beneath. <strike>Did gods wear underwear?</strike>

<strike>-</strike>

Rhiel's lips parted at Hachi's prompting, mouth warm and eagerly receptive of the kiss. The kirinae shifted beneath Hachi's hands, pressed the full length of his body against the husky, including the thigh between Hachi's legs. His own breath stuttered at the pressure, even as the taste of blood in his mouth clawed gently at loose threads of old memory. Battlefields, screaming, the dull distant lack of pain; hot, vital fluid gushing onto his tongue, down his chin, his throat; hedonistic delirium and the copper taste from having cut himself with his teeth again... It left him reeling, head clouded, part of him Elsewhere and reluctant to be recalled. Self doubt, fear, those were feelings he was accustomed to during sex, accustomed to shutting away, but this nostalgic slideshow of feeling was too new to cope with. All he could do was mask it, surge against Hachi and grind against his hip in the hopes it would bring him back to the present as easily as it wrung a gasping, pleasured noise from his throat.

Gods, it turned out, either did not or had chosen not to wear underwear. There was nothing beneath Hachi's hands but bare, smooth skin, and the crest of fur that ran down his spine to join his tail. And should Hachi's hand venture to the base of his tail, the husky would discover very quickly a remarkably efficient method of reducing a horny male Kirinae to a shuddering pile of _need_.

-

Hachi gave a shuddering huff through his nose, the cool-ish breath out washing over Rhiel's cheek. There was, alas, no real getting around the coppery taste in Hachi's mouth. How often he had it, and it being one of the only things that went through there... Well, that, and the unmistakable nicotine sting of a smoker's kiss. His tongue flit against Rhiel's in a teasing exploration. Still... Soft, and inviting. Claws dug gently into Rhiel's bare rump as he felt that thigh run up along his still-hidden sheath, only the thin pair of scrub pants keeping it separate from Rhiel's clothes.

Those claws came to rake along Rhiel's flesh, his thumb bumping against the Kirinae's tail after a moment. _Ah, yes. Tail._ He had briefly forgotten about the appendage, though a distinct curiosity took him... One paw teased a thumb over the top of the tail, claw-tips raking at the flesh around the base as he encircled it with a finger. There was little mistaking the smirk that Hachi gave into that deepening kiss.

-

The reaction to a hand on his tail was instant. It was a breath cut off, choked on, and released as a ragged, plaintive sound. It shattered the lingering snatches of time and place more effectively than Rhiel would have ever imagined. It cleared the slate of his mind and left only that touch and the immediate and powerful instinct it awoke in him. He arched against Hachi, pressed firmly into the kiss with his mouth open and a hunger growing. His nails dug into the vampire's side in spasmodic clutches.

"_Fuck_-", he choked out, kiss broken only to draw staccato breaths, his pupils blown, his skin flushed. Confident at this Rhiel might be, there was something wild and wanton Hachi had uncovered that he never let out without a thick, muffling haze of smoke and alcohol. "T-tease. You... You should warn a man."

-

Hachi grinned even more into that kiss when that reaction so suddenly became apparent. The feeling of Rhiel pushing so tight against him was... Far more enticing than he would have guessed it would be. Gods, he craved this. Even if he didn't know. Fur stood on end where Rhiel's nails felt like they could nearly pierce that thin skin, earning a moaned reply into the kiss, at least until it was broken. He was forgetting to breathe, again.

That demure smirk revealed itself when the kiss was broken, Hachi knew very well what he was doing, clearly. "Mmn? Where's the fun in that~?" He kept that paw around the tail, kneading slowly and softly at the flesh, and almost seeming to stroke it as if it were the appendage no doubt being pressed rather firmly into Hachi's thigh, now. The other hand had other plans, snaking up under Rhiel's shirt, trailing a teasingly light drag of his claws up that smooth back flesh.

-

Even sweatpants were feeling far too tight, with the seam at the crotch digging into his flesh like a brand. And then there was Hachi's hand on his back, nails scraping over his skin and wrenching a whimper from his throat he could not swallow in him. Somewhere along the line, he'd lost control of this situation. Who was really the instigator here, between the two of them, really? Both? Neither? Was this just the inevitable consequence of their meeting, predetermined by their character? Even with his thoughts scattered, Rhiel found a little time to wax philosophical. Always.

"I don't... think you realise what you do...," he choked out, another shudder prompting him to bury his face in Hachi's shoulder, while his tail curled and twitched. He wanted... gods above and below, he wanted Hachi to shove him face-first into the mattress. He slid a trembling hand down the husky's chest, down his belly, fingertips teasing at the waist of his standard-issue canvas pants.

-

The pup wriggled beneath the kirinae, still keeping that teasing grin even as the face was once again buried into the crook of his neck. Such wiggling almost seemed to push the tips of Rhiel's fingers beneath the loose waistband of his scrubs. Still, the dog relented, releasing the firm grip on Rhiel's tail base, and sliding his paw back down that rump... And between its cleft. As he went, his wrist took care of slipping the elastic waistband down some, exposing the pale flesh to the air of the room.

"Go on... Get a feel... And lose the pants, so I can too..." He spoke lowly, the airy hiss to his voice turning it almost into a complete whisper, the air flowing oh so gently over the kirinae's ear. A moment later, the teasing touch of lips on its lobe, and a very, very slight hint of teeth dragging over it could be felt... The lips soon teasing down the back of Rhiel's neck again. Far enough there was some indication he wasn't about to feed.

-

Hachi's moving his hand cleared some of the fog over Rhiel's thoughts, even if he still shuddered and shivered with lingering over-sensitivity. His nerves burned, his senses had narrowed to the body beneath him and the hand on his ass, and the movement of air over the gooseflesh of his neck and arms. He didn't have words in response, just a long, drawn out huff of breath as he slid his hand further into Hachi's pants, fingers hot in contrast against cool flesh and soft fur.

Hachi had told him to do something. What was it? Oh, right. The thing he wanted to do anyway. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of the husky's pants and tugged down, trusting the other man to either help or hinder depending on his mood. He wanted to _see_ what he'd been so close to touching. There was an itch at the back of his throat that said he wanted to _taste_ it, too, and who was he to refuse himself such simple pleasures? So, the Kirinae inched down the bed as he slid Hachi's pants downward, leaned in, and nuzzled a hip as it came bare. His gaze cast upward to catch the vampire's reaction, lavender eyes bright with a hunger behind a fan of white lashes.

Rhiel's own desire burned in the pit of his stomach, hot and tight, tendrils of it reaching out and leaving his skin sensitive and tingling. He savoured the feeling. Desire was almost as pleasurable as what came after, but it lasted longer, a thrumming he could cling to until his bones ached with it.

-

Hachi rolled his hips languidly against Rhiel's touch, his hand coming almost frustratingly close to its goal before all too quickly being drawn out. It was an almost indignant huff that followed, teasing though it was. It all felt so different to what he was used to. It wasn't just... Carnal. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, and more confusing was what Rhiel was getting up to, sliding off him unexpectedly. He drew a bit out of his daze, sitting slightly up the further the kirinae went down.

The confusion quickly replaced itself with a subtle smirk, and he let himself lay back again, hips coming up to let the loose fitting scrubs slip off more easily. His head fell to the side, and another, more breathy huff came at the kiss. He didn't expect that to feel so... Nice. Or enticing.

So close, now, Rhiel could no doubt get a whiff of something spicy, and earthy, breaking through the almost dusty, stale scent the younger, though deader, of the two gave off. Not a cologne, but rather pleasant like one, without being so astringent or strong. "You... Are such a tease..." He huffed out sideways, half a laugh coming with it. With his back arched, the somewhat proud tent could be far more easily seen.

-

Rhiel's sense of smell was sensitive, as a predator species tended to be. The musk of Hachi's arousal was very compelling, set a sweet buzz in his brain and let him taste what was to come in the back of his throat. His mouth was watering, and it was hard to refrain from just stripping the other man and going right for what he wanted.

But when Hachi said _tease_, it was like laying down a challenge. It wasn't something he reacted to consciously. All the higher levels of thought had checked out when Hachi touched his tail. It was something under the surface, a playfulness he hadn't had opportunity to let out in a long, long time, creeping out and pulling his lips into a smirk. Rhiel trailed one nail down the line of Hachi's belly, ended just above the lowered waistband of his scrubs. And then Rhiel leaned over and tucked his face against the husky's cloth-covered groin, exhaled a long breath directly onto the fabric straining over swollen flesh, and _purred_, a deep sound in his chest that reverberated through his body.

Still no words. Rhiel just closed his mouth over the shape of Hachi's cock beneath his clothes and mouthed gently through the fabric- careful pressure, so as not to abrade him with canvas. And so as not to provide any real sense of relief at all. _Tease_, Hachi said. Tease he would get.

-

The pup was barely keeping an eye on Rhiel, letting him explore somewhat more organically... The gentleness certainly lent to an easy trust, at least. He gave a shuddering gasp, falling into a tight, soft whine as the claw trailed through his thinned fur, bristling it around the touch subtly, before it fell back to its normal state. His paws kneaded slowly into the sheets beneath him, drawing tighter as that face was _right fucking on him, now, Jesus fuck._ The warmth was searing to his comparatively cool body, and all too susceptible to the eager vibrations of Rhiel's vocalisations.

He felt... Well, likely like no humanoid Rhiel may have lain with. Stiff and swollen, to a point, but there was a distinct... Furriness over the length, and something very, very hard tangible inside. Towards the tip would feel subtly smoother, at least lacking in the soft squish of fur, and somewhat more damp behind the thin fabric. Lower, it would swell subtly outwards, though maintain its semi-hard give.

The whine turned to a needy growl. The mouthing felt _good_, but perhaps it was the starvation of intimacy that made it do so, and he wasn't going to get any farther doing just that. Hell, he couldn't remember the last time someone had actually been _playful_ in bed, rather than just eager to get in and get off.

-

Rhiel chuckled, low and deep, out of character with his usual tenor, and hooked his fingers in Hachi's pants to pull them the rest of the way down, finally, mercifully. The scent of arousal was thicker without fabric to muffle it, and whatever Rhiel _did_ find under those scrub bottoms, he wanted to be closer to it quite immediately. He had seen enough alien anatomy that he wasn't going to be _surprised_, but he could still be _pleasantly delighted_\- and he was.

"I like that sound you made just there," Rhiel remarked, voice thick, as he stripped Hachi's scrub bottoms entirely off and cast them aside. His own clothing felt too hot, too restrictive, and Hachi _had_ asked- told?-, hadn't he? But he was still buzzing, alight on that cloud of _play_, so instead of his pants, he wriggled out of his shirt. It revealed a great deal of very pale skin, a line of black fur from the nape of his neck, down his spine, to the base of his tail... and a thick, old scar that bisected his torso from collarbone to groin, vanishing beneath the waist of his pants. It was pale and faded, but remarkable for the fact that there wasn't a single other scar anywhere on his body.

-

The vampire shuddered from the chuckle, fur bristling out. He didn't know why, but it felt... Well, he couldn't really place it either. What he could place, though, was the feeling of air now hitting his whole lower body, almost unconsciously shifting around to let Rhiel complete the removal without hindrance.

A tube of fur covered flesh thinly clung to the more distended flesh within, a deep red bit of it poking out at the tip. The whole shape, uniquely canine down to the hint of swelling at its base, was well defined within. The red tip glistened subtly, a hint of the patch of slickness it had begun to leave in the scrubs.

A flush came across his face with Rhiel's statement, his ears pinning back and another flustered whine coming out. He wanted to quip back, to tease, but his tongue betrayed him, nothing more coming forth. Rhiel pulling back earned a look up, the dog's lower lip just barely taken under his upper teeth. Eyes fixated on... Somehow everything that Rhiel came to display. They flicked up and down, lingering a moment on that scar, but less with the usual gawking feel. There was reverence in his eyes. "... Fffuck you're hot." He blurted out, mouth hanging just subtly open.

-

Rhiel laughed at Hachi's compliment, flippant, dismissive, but there was a red stain to his cheeks. However he wanted to play it cool, it felt _good_ to be desired. Empowering. When was the last time someone had seen him as a person to be wanted, and not a hole to fuck, a body to defile? Thoughts like these were slowly building up beneath the fog, and later, they would want answers. But just then, he was still safe from the overthinking. Hachi's face, his scent, and his beautiful noises kept the noise at bay.

Rhiel drew closer, reaching up to touch the side of Hachi's face, in a brief and startlingly intimate gesture. He didn't linger, turned it to something else instead: a slow drag of his nails down the husky's neck and chest and belly, a single, long _scritch_, not hard enough to hurt. It ended with his hand pressed against the vampire's sheath, thumb brushing against the glistening head of his cock, so Rhiel could lick the moisture from his own skin and determine whether or not Hachi tasted as good as he smelled. Because, fuck, he smelled _good_.

-

Hachi was still a bit too dazed to giggle at the subtle flush he'd given Rhiel, swept by the man's striking... Everything. _Oh gods he was smitten._ Another flinch at the touch to his face, the instinct was again to pull away, but it only took a split second for the want of attention to have him pushing against it. He almost looked sad as it was pulled away.

The scritch earned a cry of... Something. It was hard to tell, by it didn't seem bad, at least. The dog's wrist went into his maw, lightly clamped down on to stifle the further noises trying to work free. This wasn't the first time someone had been that rough, or far rougher on him. It wasn't the first time he'd been groped like that. Somehow, though, this time, everything was electric.

The sheath slid over the cock within very easily; the covering quite soft, almost delicate to the touch. Slick though it was, the pre was fairly thin. As it tasted, earthy, salty, and a metallic tang were the main tastes fighting amongst themselves to be the dominant one, with a subtle sweetness hanging in the background.

-

Rhiel made a soft noise as he laved the pad of his thumb with his tongue. It wasn't quite a moan, but it was definitely _pleased_. Hachi tasted as good as he smelled, and that was as rare as it was welcome. The kirinae wasn't sure how fragile the skin covering Hachi's cock was, so he was careful with it, groping to feel the shape of the hardness beneath.

"You're beautiful," Rhiel murmured, and he meant it. Hachi might be in a rough state, but there was something innately redeemable about all of it. The timbre of his moans, the way his breath caught, the tremor of his thighs against Rhiel's forearm, all of it together with his charm, it was remarkable, enviable. Rhiel knew he was attractive on the outside, despite the hatchet of a nose, but inside... well. He was here for a reason.

He didn't want to keep talking. He wanted to keep those thoughts below the surface where they belonged. Self-sabotage wasn't sexy, and the tantalising tip of Hachi's swollen manhood _was_. Rhiel tucked his hair back behind his ears from where it had escaped his braid, bent down, and lapped at the bead of pre he could see forming, mouth hot, tongue wet, and such a light touch, just to make Hachi squirm.

-

Hachi slowly extricated his wrist from behind his fangs, returning to a more subtle bite of his lip. The upper curled up somewhat as the groping returned, grateful for the gentleness he was afforded. Beneath all the excitement, the cravings of contact... He still felt like glass. At least the pleasure outweighed the pain, right now. His mind was still a bit fuzzy, taking a few moments to parse what he'd been called.

Once he had, a brighter blush shone through his thinned face fur, and he shot a teasing stick of his tongue back. He wasn't really sure how to take it any better. So often he could roll with it, suave and demure, and perhaps a bit egotistical, but all that failed him right now. Giddy in... Love, maybe. All he knew was that he wasn't his normal self... And that was, really, for the better.

He felt Rhiel shift down there, his head having fallen back a few moments before. Half of him expected what was to come, but he still gasped and flinched when it did. Quiver, indeed, he let out a shuddering huff, his legs trying weakly to lift against Rhiel's chest. The thin bead was followed with a veritable spray of the stuff, coating... Whatever was in the way of the tip. "F-Faahahahk!" He stammer-slurred, cursing himself for being so damn sensitive like this.

-

Rhiel replied with a playful growl, stretching out between Hachi's legs on his belly. It left his own cock pressed against the mattress, still trapped within his clothing, but it was a tolerable ache. With Hachi so delicious and responsive beneath him, he didn't have a hard time tuning out his own body to focus on the task at hand. The purr hadn't stopped, either, no help to Hachi's over sensitivity surely.

Rhiel lapped at the mess the husky had made, a pleased hum in the back of his throat. He took his time, slow, gentle swipes of the tongue, while his hand stroked the flesh still in Hachi's sheath with absolute care. The skin felt so thin, he made sure to keep his nails from scraping it.

He wasn't in a hurry. Time had ceased to matter right along with everything else. His tail curled, draped over his shoulder and Hachi's leg, as if to remind them both it was there. It had a mind of its own, sometimes. The brush of fur gave him an idea. He slid his free hand beneath Hachi, found the plume of his tail, and buried his fingers in it.

"Do you need to move?" He wondered, suddenly struck with the thought. His own tail would have been fine, but there was quite a bit less fluff to it.

-

The canid spread his legs rather invitingly to the intrusion between them, giving a subtle squeeze with his knees in response. With each stroke of his sheath, it seemed almost hesitant to slide back up, the peeking cockhead swelling slowly towards its full girth, along with the shaft inside. Hips slowly rocked in time with the licking and stroking, none too subtle hints that he was losing himself to it.

The leaking fluid was... Certainly not as warm as his kind were normally known to make, barely room temperature, in truth. Still, with every throb, a fresh spurt of the stuff shot forth, belying his productiveness. Almost as if from the surprise, as the tail touched his leg, his member twitched rather more than before, arcing the shot onto his t-shirt, where it shone on the black fabric in the light.

That whimper came back, the grab onto his tail reminding him that it existed, much as Rhiel's had for his. The whimper shifted to a rumble as the fingers dove into the fluff, at least, what was left of it.

He dazedly looked down over himself, finally catching sight of what Rhiel was actually doing. "Mmnh..? I, no... You're fine..." He spoke languidly, letting his head fall back. "Just... Don't stop."

-

Hachi's daze was _cute_. It pierced right through the fog of lust and made something in Rhiel's chest feel tight. He liked it. It was a little scary, but people did scary things all the time for fun, didn't they? The Kirinae nuzzled the emerging length of Hachi's cock in response, dragged his tongue up the length of what he could reach, and sealed his mouth over the head with another low growl. Odds were good he didn't even know he was making the sound; he was too focused on the other man by then to pay much attention to himself, and that was exactly how he wanted it.

It was a good thing Rhiel was still being so careful, as the points of eight sharp teeth were right behind his lips. They pricked against his own flesh instead, and he could taste copper in his mouth along with the dizzying flavor of Hachi skin and fluids. Nothing new, nothing he even thought about anymore. The pain itself was so closely tied with the lust and desire that it fed right into it, like savoury made sweet all the sweeter.

-

The dog had one claw still kneading into the bed, the other suddenly grasping at the base of Rhiel's skull, straddling the braid with his fingers. His toes curled and kneaded in time, half working at Rhiel's hips, where they laid. No mind was paid to the row of daggers Rhiel sported behind those lips, his own not exactly the best for such activities; all he knew was that _those lips were soft, and that tongue was softer, goddamn._

It was also _hot_. Moreso than he was normally used to, and it felt good. The tangy pre welled up in a more intent dribble, given its volume, rolling off his tip and onto Rhiel's tongue. Hachi was blissfully unaware of the sanguine liquid adding to the slickness on him, even the redness of his member hiding much of the tint of Rhiel's saliva.

The more he suckled, the more of Hachi slid free of that sheath, the tube actively retracting more and more with each passing moment, only letting itself stop once it hit that swell at the base, somewhat larger than when it had first been exposed.

-

The hand on the back of his head dragged another noise from Rhiel- a low moan, muffled by his current occupation. His toes curled, and the whip of his tail flicked back across his body- it really could be dangerous, if it had a mind to be.

The Kirinae clearly had other things on his mind, like easing more of Hachi's cock into his mouth, intently, every inch of it paid almost worshipful attention. Rhiel was clearly not new at this. He even seemed to be enjoying it, right down to the ache in his jaw as Hachi filled his mouth. He drew slow breaths through his nose, and when most of Hachi had emerged from his sheath, his hand wrapped around whatever he had not yet fit into his mouth, lubricated by no shortage of saliva- and, well, yes, the addition of the god's blood, from small lacerations in his mouth when he tucked his lips over the wickedness of his teeth.

Hachi's flesh felt cool against his tongue, and his fingers. It made for an interesting contrast, and made him all the more aware of where he ended and the organ beneath his tongue began. And it was so strange to be so aware, to be clear of mind save for the clawing ache of need sinking its claws into his body, shredding good sense and restraint.

It still left him vividly aware of what he wanted: he wanted his braid wrapped around Hachi's hand, he wanted that cock so far down his throat he couldn't breathe. The plain, naked clarity of those desires sent a shudder through him that _almost_ had him digging his nails into Hachi's delicate flesh. Luckily for the vampire, he still had some restraint left.

-

Hachi felt the _whoosh_ of air across the back of his hand, revealing how close he was to that appendage as it went. He almost flinched away, only hinted at by the subtle tense of his body, and member, instead.

The dog's usual lack of breathing was made all the more apparent as he used the action now as a means of focus, and mitigation against the intense stimulation. More or less at random, that kneading from his toes was joined by the clamping of his knees on Rhiel's chest, a huff rounding out the pang of pleasure he'd felt course through his body. So warm, so slick... Had he been less weak, he'd have been a lot less kind about the less than subtle pressure he gave at the back of Rhiel's head.

Much like his toes were, his hand massaged and wove its way into the kirinae's hair, claws trailing along the man's scalp in slow easy lines. Soon, his other hand, apparently done making a right mess of the sheets beneath it, came up and rested along the side of Rhiel's head, and cheek. It did little to actually guide the older one's ministrations, but it gave something more intimate for the other paw to do.

All said, the feeling of fragility was starting to be buried by lust, need, desire, whatever one could call it. Cool as he felt to Rhiel, the heat was starting to feel nearly searing to him, a nearly steady stream of arousal drooling and spraying into Rhiel's mouth. "Y-you're gonna finish me off like that, you know... Shit, you're good..." A part of him wanted to offer a reciprocation, though he wasn't sure if Rhiel would appreciate it from a fanged one as he. A bit harder to cover the extended ones he bore.

_... The kirinae could certainly take it if he wanted to, though._

-

The pressure on the back of his skull was direction enough, whatever weak protest... Warning... Statement(?) Hachi might be making. Rhiel swallowed around him, and his cheeks hollowed as he drew back with merciless suction, only to take Hachi right back into his mouth, further, until he could feel the thickness of the swell at the base of the other man's cock against his lips.

Time and practice meant Rhiel didn't have to worry about choking or gagging on it. And balancing breath with trying to reduce Hachi to an insensate mess meant he didn't have to worry about how nice the hand on his face felt, the fingers in his hair, or how nice it was to be the one to set the pace, at least sometimes. There was a rhythm to maintain, certain places that made Hachi shudder especially that he sought to pay more attention to. It took his focus quite nicely.

Rhiel ended up with one hand on the inside of Hachi's thigh, nails scratching down the skin beneath the thin, soft fur there, his eyes shut, world narrowed just to the task at hand. He wanted to taste Hachi's release on his tongue, wanted to feel that body tense and arch beneath him... if that meant this was it, this was enough.

-

Hachi was losing himself deeply into Rhiel, and he was oddly okay with it. He never lost control, and here he was, willingly giving it up to the kirinae. Well, as much as his conscious mind would. <strike>Tugging on the head notwithstanding.</strike> His maw fell open as he felt his tip slide past Rhiel's throat, its flexibility letting it push in, at least as far as the bone a bit deeper would allow. _That_ certainly could be felt. He stroked at Rhiel's face with his thumb, again, hips settling down just a bit as the initial shock of pleasure faded to a continual tingle.

The thigh quivered to Rhiel's touch, fur bristling and falling with almost a breath-like regularity. His hips rolled slowly, matching rhythm with the older's in a far more gentle version of face-fucking.

And all at once, he realised what Rhiel was going for... And that he wouldn't be able to get it, at least not safely. Each bump of those lips on his knot tipped him closer and closer... And all at once, he pulled Rhiel's head off of him, shuddering and gasping at the cool air hitting his saliva-soaked cock. "Sh-shit... R-Right, you don't... Ah, fuck..." He huffed out, the hefty member flopping down onto his shirt with a thump after its little, quivering display at being released.

"You don't want to take the knot in your mouth..."

-

Rhiel was startled by the interruption, and the sound it wrenched from him was something between disappointment and a whine of protest. It took a moment for the words to filter in, arrange into sentences, and make it past the language barrier into something that made sense. The _what_? He didn't have context for the word, and Rhiel's understanding of the tongue was _not_ magical, and Hachi's hands were _in his hair_, and he needed a moment. He licked his swollen lips and frowned deeply, his hands on Hachi's thighs now to support his weight so he could see the husky's face.

"The what?" He asked, finally, and the flatness of the tone made it very clear he wasn't being a brat just to tease Hachi. He had no fucking idea what was happening or why, and he didn't like the way he had to wake up his brain to ask the question.

-

Hachi offered a bit of a dazed, bemused smirk up into the air, at least just able to be seen by Rhiel. Tipping his head down, he stared along his snout at the kirinae's face. "The knot. The fat thing at the bottom of my dick..." He was _huffing_. And he didn't know why. Old instinct? "Squeeze that, it gets like 3 times bigger, and I cum, like, right there." He spoke succinctly, if breathily, before letting his head fall weakly back onto the pillows beneath. "I didn't want to stop you... But I didn't feel like choking you out when you could get that out of your mouth..."

He didn't... Release Rhiel's face through any of this, though. Fingers still stayed intertwined in his hair, and the others still caressed that cheek, albeit at a more conducive angle, now. "L-Look, you, uh... You can keep going and get me off that way, or..." He left the alternative open. Implicit though it was, he wasn't about to go expecting what they were about to do.

-

"Well. It wouldn't kill me." Rhiel offered. His words were accented, all long vowels, rounded edges to hard consonants. Awareness of his own body was returning, and with it, the ache of his cock, trapped and bordering on the _unpleasant_ side of painful. Whatever came next, he needed to make some adjustments, now that he was thinking about it.

Rhiel eased himself up to his knees, but not without one last, teasing lick of Hachi's cock, from the base of it right to the tip. He hooked his thumbs in the waist of his own pants and slid them down off his hips, freeing a very hard, red-flushed erection from its prison of loose pants. He sighed in relief and sank back to sit on his heels, watching Hachi and looking thoughtful. "What did you have in mind?" Rhiel had an idea or two... But it would be _so_ nice to hear him say it.

-

The dog dipped his head a bit in acceptance of the stated fact. "Still bet it wouldn't be the most enjoyable thing..." Ah, yes. He caught a glimpse of those teeth, again. "And... I don't think those would be terribly pleasant to have flesh pressed very tightly against..." He added, giggling a bit. _When was the last time he could -laugh- with someone naked with him? A genuine joke -about- them fucking._ The giggle faded off fairly quickly though. Forced to release Rhiel's face as he straightened up, he let his paws rest onto his pre-spattered belly, eyes coming to rest lower. _That was a hell of a tent._

And oh, was it hiding something delectable. Eyes fixated on it, and it was all he could do not to visibly drool. By the gods, he wanted to do -something- with that. "I, uh... Hah..." He gulped, shifting back up from his recline to a bit more of an upright sit, himself. "I..." His ears pinned back. He wanted to sink into Rhiel and let the man ride him. But hot damn he hadn't taken... Anything in awhile, and it'd be a good one to get back into it... "I... Haven't really uh... B-Been fucked in a while... Usually been on top, so..." He clicked his teeth a time or two. "... Just go slow?" He bared his fangs in a sheepish grin.

-

"I haven't, ah..." There was the blush again. As hard as he was, it was a wonder there was any blood left to rush to his face. Rhiel wasn't quite looking at Hachi, but he hadn't declined, either. In fact, his body responded to the idea with a throb of arousal that made him shiver, tail curling around his bent knees.

Rhiel was not a _large_ man, nothing intimidating, but it was nicely shaped and very clearly quite excited for whatever might be in store. It was proportionate to someone of his height, and his non-human nature showed here, too, in the ridges along the underside, and a flush of darker skin toward the tip that would have matched the black skin on his back, if you shaved off his crest, along with the dark line around his eyes that proved, up close, _not_ to be artifice. "D'you have lube or...?" Rhiel wondered, even as he shifted his weight to lean closer to Hachi and slide a hand up the husky's inner thigh. "And I really haven't... it's been awhile. And that was a woman so..."

-

Hachi dropped into a little giggle again, hooking his heels at Rhiel's back and giving him a bit of a tug in closer. "I do... And I guess let's both be awkward first time lovers to get back into it, eh?" He reached over, unlatching his nightstand's top drawer and pulling out a rather nondescript bottle, no fancy warming or branded lube. The free stuff the hospital had was just as good for most tasks, really.

Legs still splayed, only the fuzzy, still fairly hefty sac hid what no doubt lay beneath. All said... Losing himself in that passion was nice, but there was something a little more familiar about being more in his mind... If nothing else, it felt more real, less that fuzzy dreamlike state he'd been in. He liked that more. Scooting forward more on the bed, he fidgeted with the bottle's cap a few moments. "... You wanna do the honours, or do you want me to~?" He grinned mischievously, eyes flicking down to Rhiel's throbbing length.

-

Rhiel was a little less of a fan of this _being aware of his thoughts and feelings about this encounter_ business. He wanted his brain to switch off and just stay silent for a little while. So it helped, Hachi prompting him along a little, and the levity did, too. He smiled, fleeting but honest, and shifted closer when Hachi prompted him to. He ended up with a hand in the husky's hair, pushing it back from his face, as he dipped down and kissed his collarbone softly. It just seemed like the thing to do.

"How could I pass up the opportunity to have your hands on me?" Rhiel wondered, tone almost playful enough to cover the nervous undercurrent. Hachi had pegged the awkward part quite well. At least they were both similarly out of practice.

**-**

The pup gasped and shuddered with the refreshed contact to his neck, melting back into Rhiel and pushing their chests somewhat together. He rumbled lowly at the affection, and a bit more at the reply. "If you insist... Apologies now for how cold this is gonna feel..."

_Click!_ the bottle's lid was finally flipped totally open, and a dollop of the clear gel was squeezed onto a pair of Hachi's finger-pads. As if to insure against Rhiel jumping too much, he nuzzled against the man's cheek for a moment before tucking his hand beneath that throbbing need. Starting at the base, his claws just kissed the skin of his sac when the cool gel was pressed against Rhiel's hot flesh. Like a bandaid, though, he didn't wait long to smear up that ridged underside, his paw wrapping around and starting to spread the quickly warming lube. Clearly slick, Hachi was slow in letting his fingers explore the far more subtle shape of the kirinae's cock, undulating over the ridges most intently.

-

_Cold_. Hachi had warned him. He still hissed, long, quiet, a sharp inhale to temper himself against jumping away. Hachi's hand and the lube felt like ice against engorged flesh. The lube, at least, began to warm to his body temperature quickly, even if Hachi's pawpads felt cool enough to be impossible to ignore. Gods above and below, that felt so much better than his own hand, once the shock of cold wore off.

Rhiel moaned against Hachi's shoulder, teeth scraping the ridge of the vampire's collarbone, though the Kirinae resisted the strong urge to bite down. Most lovers didn't appreciate it. He had plenty of practice saving that particular instinct for a pillow, or a crumple of blanket, when he was alone. He shuddered against Hachi and pressed kisses to his throat, shoulder, and jaw, instead. "Oh, _fuck_..."

-

Hachi seemed to remember he had the bottle of lube still in his other hand, quickly snapping it shut and dropping it... Somewhere on the bed. They'd find it again. The freshly emptied handpaw rested on Rhiel's matching shoulder, and he slowly massaged at it while stroking Rhiel. Certainly felt... Filling. The slickness had him leaving Rhiel's foreskin more or less where it was, at least until he slid up over that head. His pad teased at the line where the skin met head, starting to work its way under. "Mmn... You're not sensitive under here, are ya? Some guys really are..." He spoke with a low concern, yet kept that bedroom voice the whole way through.

Punctuating the question, he hissed at the sensation of teeth on his neck once again, curling his toes tightly. The grip on Rhiel's stiffness tightened briefly as well, but soon relaxed. "Y-You know... I won't hate you if you gotta bite... Just... A little not-used to it..."

-

"I- aaah... I don't think you'd enjoy it very much," Rhiel demurred, unable to avoid the catch in his breath. Hachi's hand was doing _things_ and it was horribly distracting. He felt like he was unraveling, all the control and distance that had kept him from shoving Hachi down before this point just dissolving into nothing. Gods, when was the last time someone had touched _him_? When was the last time it wasn't a matter of spreading his legs and taking what was given? So slick, so careful, and the question, checking his boundaries, was strangely, deeply erotic all by itself. Intimate. Caring. _Fuck_.

"Feels good," He gasped, belatedly. It was on the edge of too much, that perfect little precipice, and Hachi clearly knew what he was doing. "What y-you're doing not... nn... Bite's just a bite. Lotta teeth. You'd bleed a-and... you need all that." He managed a huff of shaky laughter, a grin, letting Hachi in on the joke.

-

The pup slipped his paw up off Rhiel's shoulder, cradling around his neck and cupping the back of his head. The other kept its gentle ministrations, that fingertip finally working beneath the skin, and stroking over the smooth skin of the kirinae's cockhead. He was conscious of the sharp claw-like nail he sported, only spending a bit of time in there before he decided the risk was a bit too much, and slipped back out. The pad stroked straight over the slit at Rhiel's cocktip, teasing it just barely apart before resuming the initial stroking.

"Got a lotta blood, little pokes... Healin' from that's faster than all the other shit..." He huffed out reassuringly, only offering a few more strokes before letting his paw come away. A shuffle had his legs on either side of Rhiel's, and his paw started to pull on the man's head as before, the dog coaxing the pair back. "Think you're ready?" He gave a bit of a demure giggle, already starting to shift himself into position beneath Rhiel.

-

Hachi's teasing touch rewarded him with a choked little noise, Rhiel's cock twitching in his grasp. He scrambled to decipher the words that had been spoken at him, blood pounding in his ears. By the time he'd made sense of it, Hachi was pulling him down, spreading his legs, and the sight had Rhiel discombobulated all over again.

Rhiel could see hints of what Hachi would look like healthy and hale, how delicious those hipbones and thighs would be when fully fleshed out. He _wanted_ to see it. He knew then and there he'd want to do this again, that once would not be enough. What was it, to want to bed someone a second time, to talk to them again, but without the intent to make them your lover? Was there something in between? Questions for later, for a clearer head. He'd have so much to think about.

Rhiel dropped a hand down to the back of Hachi's thigh, nudging the leg up a little higher as he shifted between the husky's legs with one hand wrapped around the base of his own cock. _Ready_ wasn't the word for it. He was beyond ready. He was _hungry_ for this. "Are you?" He asked, instead, throat dry enough to make his voice stick. He rubbed the head of his cock against Hachi's entrance, spreading the slickness of the lube over the sensitive pucker. And fuck, that felt so good, it was as much a tease for himself as for Hachi.

-

The noise Rhiel let out sent a flutter through Hachi; something was going oh so terribly right, all said. He stared up to Rhiel as he half forced the kirinae to loom over him, desire plastered across his face. His reaction to the other's touch was almost automatic, his leg cocking up and to the side enough to have his knee coming alongside Rhiel's ribs.

All at once, he felt... Nervous... Giddy, more. It really did feel like his first time so, so many years ago with his first boyfriend. He didn't know how much he missed it until now. Rhiel's question earned a tighter grip on the back of his head, pulling it closer still to the dog's muzzle. "Just shove it in, already..." He growled, half teasing, half begging.

And then, his lips met Rhiel's. _Would he know what he was in store for?_

-

"_Shove_? No. But I'll fuck you." Rhiel retorted, but the effect was ruined by the tremor in his voice. But he pressed forward all the same, steadying himself with his hand until just past that first resistance, and then his hands were on Hachi's hips as he slid forward, slow, insistent, against the gripping tightness of the other man's body. He had nothing to compare it to. Hachi was cool, compared to his previous experiences, and it had been so long since he'd fucked another man from this perspective that he couldn't remember much about it at all. It was new again, and in a life so long, so little was ever _new_ that it was dizzyingly good.

The groan it wrenched from him was muffled by Hachi's mouth, and it parted his lips in a way that invited the kiss deeper. The lacerations on the inside of his lips were still raw, blood on his teeth and tongue that Rhiel was hardly even aware of anymore. Blood full of promise, full of power, like drinking a bottle of glitter and champagne mixed with pure sugar syrup. God'sblood, and all of Eternity and Risk and Deceit wrapped up in it, a thousand lies told, life unending, dangers untold, and just to top it off, the electric zap of power that was Rhiel's and Rhiel's alone; the energy that fed his body in ways food never could.

-

The vampire's eyes shot open, rolling back in melting pleasure as he felt that old, familiar burn of being spread open. He shuddered into the kiss, pulling Rhiel tighter against his lips as his face screwed up from the sensation. He hadn't noticed the taste hitting his tongue just yet, only just after his lips parted and that tongue flit against Rhiel's did it manifest.

Hachi invited little push back when that lifted leg swung up and behind Rhiel's hips and pulled tight, urging that ridged shaft in deeper and deeper. Everything was lighting up in his head, synapses firing all at once. He felt like his old self, suddenly. A surge of warmth pushed through his body; enough that Rhiel, himself, could probably feel it.

Rhiel's memory likely served him well. Hachi was never a terrifically well filled out man, but his form came away from skeletal, the bags melted from his eyes, his fur thickened out to something a little less... Dead. All in the blink of an eye. All from that first ambrosia-laden kiss. There was a deep-seated shudder that ran through him, the dog starting to suckle a bit on that kiss, tongue flitting about as it discovered little morsels of Rhiel's essence.

-

Rhiel was drowning in sensation and loving every second of it. Even the press of Hachi's leg urging him forward was its own sweet, ringing layer, scratching the part of his brain that liked to be pushed around. He drove into the other man until there was no more space between them, hilted in tight flesh, and he shuddered and moaned into Hachi's mouth like a cat in heat.

There was something else, a wash of power and change, a strengthening to the grip Hachi had on him, and the body beneath him no longer felt like it was so fragile he might break it. But Hachi's kiss was so hungry, so insistent, that he didn't have the time or brainpower to spare for questioning it or investigating. He was too busy catching panting breaths in the kiss just to temper himself so he didn't end it all far sooner than either of them would have liked.

-

Hachi almost squeaked as he felt hips hit his, pipping the noise into Rhiel's mouth where it fizzled and died among their fighting tongues, and was altogether drowned by Rhiel's far more insistent, powerful noise. The pup clenched a time or two around the base of Rhiel's rigid flesh, holding him there for a moment as he still let himself get used to the sensation once again. Even so, Hachi wasn't vice-like on the kirinae's member. Subtly snug, a hinting of what the dog used to be like far more often.

Something ticked in Hachi's brain, though, and the hand gripping Rhiel's head switched from pushing to pulling, breaking the kiss to leave a red-stained trail between their lips. Hachi's eyes were half lidded, but their previous dull lustre was replaced with a distinct _glow_. He was huffing hard, still holding Rhiel still inside him. "Just... fuck me. K-Kiss me later..." He breathed out. He didn't want to try and parse what exactly had happened, he just knew he couldn't keep that up without... Something happening. He wasn't sure what, nor did he want to find out just yet.

-

"Y-yeah... Sure..." Rhiel panted, in a tone that said he would have agreed to just about anything Hachi said right then. He tightened his hip on Hachi's hips, tugged back against the pressure holding him inside the other man's body. The fur beneath his hands was _soft_, he noticed, first, along with the fur against his thighs. Hachi smelled a little different- _better_, masculine and heavy in the air over the grave-flower-dust smell of vampire-, felt firmer where Rhiel's fingertips were digging into his flesh. Weird. It drew him to open his eyes and _look_, and while he didn't understand the _why_, the body beneath him sent a whole new flush of colour across Rhiel's cheeks and down his neck.

"Oh, _fuck_, you're gorgeous." Rhiel didn't notice his own blood on Hachi's mouth, but he sure as hell noticed the rest.

-

The dog had released the tension in his legs once Rhiel pushed back against it, almost having forgotten about that. He lifted his hips a bit more, shifting feet to get them braced more on the bed beneath the pair. His own member, still as large as it had been when Rhiel left it, laid along the black tee shirt in a puddle of its own soaked-in precum, occasionally twitching and spraying a refresher.

Gorgeous was a word, perhaps. His hair was rather mussed up and spread around his head in a messy halo, ironic as it was, and his face seemed positively flushed. Maw hung open, displaying his fangs as well as that tainted tongue just barely poking out. Still... He wasn't an awful looking man otherwise... "Glad you remember how I looked..." He twitched the corners of his lips up with a hint of a grin, luminescent eyes closing a moment as he relaxed back.

-

Rhiel shook his head, bewildered and bemused, but there'd be time for questions later. Hopefully. As long as they didn't both decide this had been a terrible idea and forget it ever happened and-

Not the time for stress. Rhiel tamped that down and shoved it right back into the back of his brain where it belonged. He was buried balls-deep in a handsome man and he was having a _good time_, and he was going to fuck him until they both came apart at the seams. And he was not going to let self-sabotage ruin this NOW. Far too late for that.

"I hope I was right," he retorted, sentence punctuated with a gasp as he began to withdraw from Hachi, inch by agonisingly exquisite inch. It was so good he almost never wanted it to end. But then there was so much more to look forward to by the time they were done.... The first thrusts were shallow, still slow, giving them both time to catch their breath and become accustomed to one another. There'd be plenty of time to test the structural integrity of Hachi's bed frame later.

-

The dog's face tensed as that slicked member slid out, each ridge earning a subtle twitch of his whole body. In spite of his minor panic a moment ago, he, too, was determined to enjoy this anyway. Lazily, he wiped the somewhat sticky lube-covered hand on his sheets, resigned to the fact they'd need to be changed anyway, and placed the more or less cleaned paw on Rhiel's shoulder. His other matched the movement on the other side, his pawpads squeezing softly into Rhiel's shoulders.

His lips met for a moment to offer a bemused grin up to Rhiel in response to the comment, falling back open the moment the kirinae started pecking himself back in. Still feather-light, Hachi's whole body rocked even with the lightness of the initial motions, though it seemed to carry some momentum now. Much as he wanted to goad Rhiel on into more aggressive things right away, he couldn't deny that slowness was appreciated. After all. They were two novice lovers, right?

-

Rhiel turned his head and tipped his shoulder, bringing one of Hachi's paws within reach to press a kiss to the back of it. It was an impulse, but it felt right. Those hands on his shoulders felt nice, and were encouraging. Just a subtle reminder that Hachi was enjoying this, too.

There was something... sweet about the moment. Innocent, even. It was a feeling Rhiel was so far removed from it took him time to figure out what it was. It was something he wasn't sure he'd ever actually had, off-hand, and it was... nice. Just, nice. Kind. Warming. He didn't need to feverishly drive Hachi into the mattress because this was not a race to the finish.

So, instead, he shifted against the other man, and slid his hand up from Hachi's hip, trailed his fingers up the length of the husky's hard cock, and caught the hem of his shirt along the way, peeling sticky, soaked fabric from the fur to reveal more of him. More fur to drag his nails through as he fucked the husky, deeper and firmer but unhurried.

-

Hachi hadn't expected the kiss, it sending a giddy shudder through him in response. Nails subtly dug into the god's shoulders, and he clenched back down on Rhiel out of instinct more than anything. That all relaxed after a moment, and he rolled his paws back and forth where they'd been gripping, and Hachi himself let out a low hiss of breath.

The gratitude of Rhiel actually taking it slow as Hachi had requested was starting to show on the dog's face, and a more relaxed serene expression was starting to take him. That, and no doubt the energy boost had taken a good bit of his pain away.

Of course, that melted off as Rhiel groped at Hachi's member, the flesh having gone just a bit tacky, at least where the thin pre hadn't re-wet it. His shirt was veritably soaked through, now, and the fur beneath held shape where fingers trailed through it; the slickness having come through the fabric. Indeed, though, all of his fur had filled back out, the off-white colour no longer greyed from the ashen-grey skin beneath. "... You want it off?" He breathed out, lifting a bit off his back to help facilitate it.

-

"Yes, off," Rhiel replied, and pushed the shirt the rest of the way up Hachi's chest. It meant Hachi would have to let go of his shoulders, but it also meant Rhiel could bend down and nuzzle his chest and slide his fingers through the fluff on Hachi's belly- so close to his twitching cock, and yet not quite there. "You'll need a new one anyway. You've... mmn... You've made a mess." Rhiel purred, trusting Hachi to strip the rest of the way out of the shirt.

The slower pace meant things would, hopefully, last longer. Desire was already a tight knot in the pit of Rhiel's belly, but it had been since he'd taken Hachi's cock into his mouth. He wanted to see the other man come beneath him, and he was starting to realise that, even with patience and care and restraint, that... might not take long. All the more reason to practice more in the future.

-

Hachi shifted his back up and down, the process somewhat slow as he felt Rhiel shift within him. Once to the point he'd have to take his hands off of the god's shoulders, he settled back down for a moment, gripping tight onto those shoulders before continuing. One paw, then the other came down, carefully extricating himself from the shirt to avoid soaking his face in the slick fluid.

Once free, he cast the garment to the side, leaving his arm lain across the bed. In spite of the energy boost, he was somehow winded. The other hand slid onto Rhiel's head once more, cradling him against the fuzzy chest. Rhiel's hand was certainly in for a bit more of a show, the twitching member keeping up its tirade of spraying, now over whatever was in its way; Rhiel's hand, in this case. "Mmn... I wanna see how you make your own mess... I... _nngh_... Could go any time I want..."

-

Rhiel nuzzled into Hachi's neck, nibbling between panting breaths. Just the feeling of the other body against him was almost enough to push him past that precipice, something between a desperate craving for contact and simple, classical conditioning. His teeth scraped Hachi's skin through the fur as he wrapped his hand around the vampire's cock, squeezing and stroking with fingers trembling from the tension in his body. "You're.. ah... You're already a mess."

-

Hachi tensed and clamped down a bit as Rhiel dragged those sharp teeth over his flesh, the lowered pain making the intense pleasure all the more notable. Legs finally wrapped both around the god's hips, Hachi doing a bit more to rock himself eagerly onto that shaft. His speed picked up with Rhiel's ministrations, earning little yips and whimpers pipped out of his throat. "Y-Yeah, that ha-Haaaappens... W-Wait 'til I actually cum, you'll see a mess..." He teased back, clearly flustered at the moment. "Just... _Fucking cum in me, gods dammit._" He finally hissed out, basal need filling his voice.

-

That begging desperation struck a chord somewhere deep and primal. It drew a long, low growl from Rhiel, competing with the purr that had not ceased, all muffled against Hachi's shoulder. Rhiel never _decided_ to match Hachi's pace, because his brain had shorted out long ago, but the sound of that plea had him letting go, fucking Hachi just as fast and deep as he might possibly want, with Rhiel's hand still wrapped firmly around his cock.

It didn't take much of that before Rhiel was overcome, spending himself in Hachi with a cry of pleasure they could probably hear down the hall. His nails dug into the husky's hip, mercifully not his dick, and Rhiel bit down on the other man's shoulder without ever planning to. Eight wickedly sharp teeth, set into the meat of Hachi's shoulder as the God came so hard he saw stars, with a possessive snarl Rhiel didn't even know he was capable of.

-

Hachi took a moment to parse what he'd just goaded Rhiel into, barely tucking arms down to embrace the god's torso before that pace started quite viciously rocking him. There was no actively rolling his hips and humping into Rhiel's hand, no. His motions were wholly controlled by the one on top of him, and they were certainly anything but smooth. The dog bared his teeth in a growl as he took Rhiel's pounding, the embrace focusing mostly on the brace part, just trying to keep himself beneath the god instead of being pushed up towards the head of the bed.

Even through that, he could tell when someone was cresting, and Rhiel moreso. Ears pinned back at the noise, and he grimaced a bit. He was _right there_ himself, though he had been for some time... Rhiel was so close to the right spot.

And then all hell broke loose in the dog's head. He hadn't had skin broken like that in ages... And why did it feel so damn _good_? A quivering pile of whimpering and whining, Hachi struggled to push his paw down in between their bodies, fumble for Rhiel's hand, and grab over top of it. Barely managing, he slid the hand just a couple inches lower, his somewhat larger knot finally coming into the god's grip.

Hachi squeezed down over top, holding as long as he could before the pleasure overwhelmed him. The knot ballooned out, filling out both of their grips and then some. It throbbed rhythmically, along with the rest of the cock... And it was clear things just got a whole lot more wet between the two.

-

Rhiel took the hint, even in his current state, hand tight around where Hachi had directed it. He was shuddering and licking at Hachi's shoulder, coming down from his own peak while trying to milk Hachi through his own. He shifted against the other man, cock sliding from his hole, when it abruptly became _too much of a good thing _for flesh so thoroughly used. As his sense and reason returned, the licking stopped. He was a little appalled that he'd done it in the first place, and then _more_ appalled that he'd _bitten Hachi, just like he said he would not_, like some kind of desperate, horny animal.

Rhiel ducked his head, and a glance down between them became more of a stare. There was.... A lot. More than he would have ever expected. And it was _everywhere_. It made him flush for a whole new set of reasons. If nothing else that was..... Fuck that was flattering. They weren't connected, he knew, but _still_.

-

The dog's whole body quaked and twitched at first, each throb bringing a fresh spray of the thin, milky liquid along his and Rhiel's bellies. No hint on his face was present of any anger, or even really any pain, despite the deep red welling up at those puncture points on his shoulder. Bliss, if anything.

As Rhiel looked down, yes, he'd see the mess, but with Hachi's cock still in his grip, he'd also see sprays of seed shooting with each pulse. Hachi, himself, was quickly coming back to his senses, the post-orgasm rush clearing his mind, while keeping him still quite blissful. Only then, did he realise Rhiel had already withdrawn, his hole cool in the air as it leaked the god's thick spunk. "Hah... Toldja the mess was gonna be good..." He seemed oddly cohesive for someone who had not only just came, but, technically, _was still in that very process_.

Glancing over, he chuffed in amusement at his shoulder, grinning almost proudly up to Rhiel. "That... Fuck. Yes. Good. Yes." He let his head fall back heavily, a bit of a dumb grin spread on his face.

-

"Are you.....?" Rhiel was a little bewildered by what was going on. It was almost surreal. He squeezed gently, thumb pressed to the underside of Hachi's cock, making it clear exactly what his question was about. His body was heavy, drowsy, and sated, and he really just wanted to stretch out for a minute. But if Hachi wasn't through, well, that would be rude, wouldn't it?

The husky's reaction to the bite was a relief, entirely. He wasn't happy about the slip of control, but it had felt _good_, and he wasn't really sure what he could have done to prevent it. If Hachi didn't mind... maybe he didn't have to either.

-

Hachi flicked an ear, clicking in to what Rhiel was asking after a moment. "Mn? Oh, err... Y-Yeah. That'll keep going for like... Half an hour if you hold it..." He was very relaxed seeming now, almost casual about the fact that he was soaking his fur down with his own spunk as they spoke. "Feels nice but... I won't hate you if you wanna let go... Cuz, uh..." He did give a little grunt of pleasure. "That production won't slow down for a while..." He finished. He had, on a couple occasions, tested that and found it to be true... And vowed the next time he did it, himself, he'd have a few condoms ready to keep the mess down.

He'd finally released Rhiel's hand, his grip moving to test at his shoulder. There was a bit of a show about licking the blood off of his fingers... Almost sultry as he sucked them clean, before the split of a grin across his face revealed the true, impish nature of the display. "... Felt good, didn't it..? Getting to control it, for once?"

-

"... Fuck, yes, it did." As tempting as it was to test this theory himself, his hand was getting tired, and he really did want to lie down for a moment, so Rhiel let go to sprawl on the bed beside Hachi. There wasn't much room, so it might even have been considered... a cuddle. It wasn't, of course. _Absolutely not._ It was just necessary to slide his arm around Hachi's shoulder while he licked the fingers of his other hand clean.

"You're not what I expected, you know. 'S good. I liked it. You smell good."

-

The pup shuddered a moment after Rhiel released his grip, the spraying slowing to a dribble within a few moments. His reaction to Rhiel's totally-not-a-cuddle was rather expected from a canine, a wriggle and nestle against the god's scarred chest. He grinned somewhat lasciviously as Rhiel licked the spunk from his hand, the cum certainly of a more metallic taste than even the pre had been. "Mmn... I'm slightly scared to ask what you did expect..." He murmured, giving a low rumble as he somehow fought to cuddle tighter against Rhiel. "And... I smell like jizz, sweat, and blood... Boy, I'm worried for you if you think that smells good." He shot a grin at... Nothing in particular, his head was curled down somewhat from the closeness between the two.

"... Letcha in on a li'l secret though... Just cuz it's kinda fun, sometimes... I'll cum any time you do that... Like. Literally. Got it?"

-

Rhiel chuckled at Hachi's description of his own scent- that sounded about right. He wasn't sure which part he was supposed to not enjoy. . Hachi's scent, his flavor, that body tucked against him... In the afterglow he could admit that it was good. It felt nice. It all mixed together into a pleasant hum in the back of the mind and the centre of his chest, in that little void he usually filled with drugs and alcohol. The one he numbed so he couldn't feel all the broken glass it was filled with. But instead of sharp and dangerous it felt... soft.

The god tipped his head down to nuzzle Hachi's hair and those ridiculous ears, just feeling him there and breathing his scent and not questioning all the _good_. He could write it off as post-coital bliss if he had to.

"Any time? How much warm-up you need?" He wondered, into Hachi's hair.

-

Hachi flicked his ears about as they were nuzzled into, giggling from the slightly ticklish sensation it gave him. It almost felt weird not to be scampering for a shower, or for a set of clothes to hastily tuck on before they needed to be somewhere else. Had it really been that long since he'd done it for its own sake? Out of desire and... Dare he think it, love? He rumbled lowly as the thought to himself, taking a few moments to register and respond to that question.

"Mmmn... I said any time. Literally." He reiterated, a pause before he added, "Assuming I haven't already just gotten off. Touch that thing now that you've let go and you'll find out just how hard I really can bite..." He chuckled a bit, though it trailed off quietly as he remembered the brief bit of time they'd made out earlier. Ah, that needed to be addressed... Soon.

For now, a hand came up and cupped along the top of Rhiel's head, scritching and petting between the nubs of antlers and carding its nails with the flow of the kirinae's hair.

-

Rhiel startled when Hachi's hand touched his head, a jarring discord cutting through his drowsy contentment. The cuddling he was coming around to- the petting... Oh, but it felt _good_. It started the purr again, even if Rhiel himself was very tense beneath Hachi's hand. He wanted it, and all at once, he was deeply unsettled by it. Now that the sex was over, now that his head was clearing, there were the old insecurities again, and oh, didn't he have somewhere to be?

"I'll remember that. For next time. Ah. What ah, that is. How long do you think that was? I've got an appointment with Ineal...." Some time after group. Which would surely be out by now. And it wasn't at all an excuse to escape a very pleasant situation he strongly regretted becoming aware of. Fuck. He was cursing inwardly, even as he found himself beginning to pull away.

-

Hachi felt that sinking crash coming on as well, cursed empathy. Another quick scritch and Hachi let himself be pulled away from. He really needed to clean up his... Everything, now. Looking over to the wall clock, he grumbled a bit. "S'about... Half past three." He grumbled, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting pose. He couldn't really let himself be complacent in Rhiel missing that appointment, as well. "You said it was like, at 4, right? Share a shower?" He offered, the cheeky grin only holding for a second. Truth be told, he couldn't go another round so soon even if he wanted to. Hell, he was groggy, now, that post-afterglow drowsiness hitting him like a freight train.

"And, uh... Come back around here when you're done up there, yeah? You're welcome to sleep in my room instead of the dorm... I'll make sure you're 'accounted for' so they don't throw a shit fit." He smiled, slowly rocking himself forward and standing, a bit woozily. At least he wasn't in pain, for now. He knew what had happened, with Rhiel's blood. He should have expected such a response... And, gods be damned, _he wanted to beg Rhiel's permission for more._

-

Rhiel felt, in the back of his damn brain, a place from where he could not control his own actions and was forced to watch his own dumb behaviour. He liked Hachi. But he didn't know him terribly well, and this was all too friendly too quickly. But he needed a shower. Or something. He could _not_ show up to Ineal's office like.... like _this_. "You think I can shower _alone_ in thirty minutes?" There was more distance between them as Rhiel slid to his feet, tail twitching. He _looked_ like he'd been up to no good, hair half-unbraided and stuck to his skin by sweat, not to mention the _vast quantities of Hachi's mess on his skin_.

-

The dog let out a _snerk_ at Rhiel's rebuttal. "You have a point... I'll make sure you're as clean as you'll get." He assured Rhiel with a low hum, slowly making his way around the foot of the bed and towards the entrance alcove, where the door to the bathroom lay. It really was a fancy hotel room, looking at it. A moment had him forgetting that he was imbued with strength for the time being, and he pushed the door open with a bit more force than necessary, half falling into the bathroom before catching himself.

"I'm good." He announced aloud with a bit of a surprised tone, standing up straight on the bath mat and holding still for a moment to regain his balance completely. Naked as he was, he saw no issue moving straight into the glass-walled shower... Upscale hotel, indeed, the tub and shower were separate in the rather large bathroom.

He expected Rhiel to follow shortly after, already kicking the water on and letting it come up to temperature.


End file.
